The Eiffel Tower :

I/.Iron : a revolution.

1).Its use:

The first half of the nineteenth century is marked in Europe by the Industrial Revolution , in which the metal industry played an essential part. In 1845, iron appeared as a more effective and above all cheaper material than cast iron thanks to the renewal of the shapes which could be built. Iron was more and more used in buildings, such as "Les Halles" of Paris or the library Sainte Geneviève. From the 1870’s, experiments had been run to show the performances of iron, and it had become an object of everyday use. It was notably used in the construction of bridges, buildings, and especially of the Eiffel Tower. Iron become the exemplary symbol of news products of industry.

2).Its advantages.

By 1845, the iron was a material more efficient and especially,cheaper than cast iron was used.Gradually, the iron advantages had been recognized : a hight resistivity, an incombustibility but also a malleability. For all theses assets, Gustave Eiffel chose the iron as the main material for the Tower.

After the creation of the Eiffel Tower, architects all over the world began to create monuments of very big size,such as the Tower of Tokyo and of Sydney in 1958, or else of the 2 twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the United States. The Tower of Tokyo was inspired by Eiffel's Tower: the forms were similar and the material used was the same, the iron. The Tower of Tokyo was the hightest metal tower of the world; it is 333 metres against 320 for the Eiffel Tower. The Tower of Tokyo is in fact a replica of the Eiffel Tower, improved thanks to the use of steel and new technologies.

Formely, towers had military or religious functions. Eiffel built the tower to offer the public the sight of a magnificient panorama both in the daytime and at night. But it is now also used to bear radio and television antennae.

The Eiffel Tower was really a success in all fields, it allowed the construction of monuments of very big sizes, it contributed to the evolution of science.