Tower: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
m Reverted edits by 168.10.57.11 to last version by CanadianLinuxUser (HG) |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{otheruses}} |
|||
{{FixHTML|beg}} |
|||
[[Image:Toronto's CN Tower.jpg|thumb|right|[[CN Tower]] (the world's tallest completed freestanding structure) in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]].]] |
|||
{{FixHTML|mid}} |
|||
[[Image:Sears Tower ss.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Sears Tower]], in [[Chicago, Illinois]].]] |
|||
{{FixHTML|mid}} |
|||
[[Image:eiffel.alone.500pix.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Eiffel Tower]] in [[Paris]].]] |
|||
{{FixHTML|mid}} |
|||
[[Image:Žižkov tv tower.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Žižkov Television Tower|TV Tower]] in [[Prague]].]] |
|||
{{FixHTML|mid}} |
|||
[[Image:Torres El Faro.jpg|thumb|right|[[El Faro towers]] in [[Buenos Aires, Argentina]] one of the tallest towers in the city]] |
|||
{{FixHTML|mid}} |
|||
[[Image:Shukhov tower shabolovka moscow 02.jpg|thumb|[[Shukhov Tower]] in [[Moscow]], [[Russia]]. Currently under threat of demolition.]] |
|||
{{FixHTML|end}} |
|||
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Juche Tower.jpg|thumb|[[Juche Tower]], one of [[Pyongyang]]'s best-known monuments.]] --> |
|||
'''Towers''' are tall human-made [[structure]]s that are always taller than they are wide, usually by a significant [[margin]]. Towers are generally built to take [[advantage]] of their [[height]], and can stand alone or as part of a larger structure. |
|||
== History == |
|||
Towers have been used by mankind since prehistoric times. Some of the earliest surviving examples are the [[broch]] structures in northern [[Scotland]], which are conical [[towerhouse]]s. The Chinese used towers as integrated elements of the [[Great Wall of China]] as early as about 210 BC. These and later examples from [[Phoenicia]]n and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] cultures emphasised the use of a tower in fortification and sentinel roles. For example, [[watchtower]] elements are found at [[Mogador]] from the first millennium [[Before Christ|BC]], derived from Phoenician or Carthaginian origins, while the Romans utilised octagonal towers<ref>[http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17691 C.Michael Hogan, "Diocletian's Palace", The Megalithic Portal, A. Burnham ed, Oct 6, 2007]</ref> as elements of [[Diocletian's Palace]] in [[Croatia]], which monument dates to approximately 300 [[AD]]. |
|||
A noted incomplete tower is the [[Hassan Tower]] in [[Morocco]], where work was abandoned in 1199 AD, and the tower stands today as a [[monument]] in its incomplete state.<ref>Justin McGuinness, ''Morocco Handbook'', 2003, Footprint Travel Guides: Morocco, 560 pages |
|||
ISBN 190347163X</ref> Another well known tower is the [[Leaning Tower of Pisa]] in [[Pisa, Italy]] built from 1173 until 1372. The [[Himalayan Towers]] are stone towers located chiefly in [[Tibet]] built approximately 14th to 15th century. |
|||
<ref>http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3474951 Dana Thomas, ''Towers to the Heavens'', Newsweek, 2003-11-15</ref> |
|||
Some old towers in the [[United States]] are the [[Milwaukee City Hall]], built in [[1895]] in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]] and the [[Woolworth Building]], completed in [[1913]] in [[New York City]]. In [[Chicago]], the ''Solidarity Tower'' of the historic [[Gateway Theatre (Chicago)|Gateway Theatre]] is a replica of the main tower of the [[Warsaw Royal Castle|Royal Castle]] in [[Warsaw]]. |
|||
==Etymology== |
|||
[[Old English]] ''torr'' is from Latin ''turris'' via [[Old French]] ''tor''. The Latin term together with Greek τύρσις was loaned from a [[pre-Indo-European]] Mediterranean language, connected with the [[Illyrian language|Illyrian]] toponym |
|||
Βου-δοργίς. With the [[Lydian]] toponyms Τύρρα, Τύρσα, it has been connected with the ethnonym [[Tyrrhenians|Τυρρήνιοι]] as well as with ''Tusci'' (from ''*Turs-ci''), the Greek and Latin names for the [[Etruscans]] (Kretschmer Glotta 22, 110ff.) |
|||
==Functions of towers== |
|||
===Skyscrapers=== |
|||
A modern type of tower, the [[skyscraper]], uses less ground space as a ratio of total building interior square footage. Skyscrapers are often not classified as towers, although most have the same design and structure of towers. In the [[United Kingdom]], tall domestic buildings are referred to as '''tower blocks'''. In the [[United States]], the [[World Trade Center]] had the nickname the Twin Towers, a name shared with the [[Petronas Twin Towers]] in [[Kuala Lumpur]]. |
|||
===Strategic advantages=== |
|||
The tower throughout history has provided its users with an advantage in surveying defensive positions and obtaining a better view of the surrounding areas, including battlefields. They were installed on [[defensive walls]] or rolled near a target, see [[siege tower]]. Presently, strategic-use towers can be found at prisons or military camps. |
|||
===Potential energy=== |
|||
By using gravity to move objects or substances downward, a tower can be used to store items or liquids like a [[storage silo]] or a [[water tower]], or aim an object into the earth such as a [[drilling tower]]. [[ski jumping|Ski-jump ramps]] use the same idea, and in the absence of a natural mountain slope or hill, can be human-made. |
|||
===Communication enhancement=== |
|||
In history, simple towers like [[lighthouse]]s, [[bell tower]]s, [[clock tower]]s, [[signal tower]]s and [[minaret]]s were used to communicate information over greater distances. In more recent years, [[radio mast]]s and cell phone towers facilitate communication by expanding the range of the transmitter. The [[CN Tower]] in [[Toronto]], [[Canada]] was built as a communications tower, with the capability to act as both a transmitter and repeater. Its design also incorporated features to make it a tourist attraction, including the world's highest observation deck at 147 stories.{{Fact|date=August 2008}} |
|||
===Transportation support=== |
|||
Towers can also be used to support bridges, and can reach heights that rival some of the tallest buildings above-water. Their use is most prevalent in [[suspension bridge]]s and [[cable-stayed bridge]]s. The use of the [[pylon]], a simple tower structure, has also helped to build railroad bridges, mass-transit systems, and harbors. |
|||
===Other towers=== |
|||
* To access tall or high objects: [[launch tower]], [[service tower]], [[supply tower]], [[scaffolding|scaffold]], [[tower wagon]] |
|||
* To access atmospheric conditions aloft: [[wind turbine]], meteorological [[measurement tower]], [[tower telescope]], [[solar thermal energy|solar power]] station |
|||
* To take advantage of the temperature gradient inherent in a height differential: [[cooling tower]], [[chimney]] |
|||
* To protect from exposure: [[BREN Tower]] |
|||
* For industrial production: [[Shot Tower (Dubuque)|shot tower]] |
|||
* To drop objects: [[drop tower]], [[bomb tower]], [[high diving|diving platform]] |
|||
* To test height-intensive applications: [[Express Lift Tower|elevator test tower]] |
|||
* To improve structural integrity: [[thyristor tower]] |
|||
* To mimic towers or provide height for training purposes: [[fire tower]], [[parachute tower]] |
|||
* As art: [[Shukhov Tower]] |
|||
* For recreation: [[rock climbing|rock climbing tower]] |
|||
* As a symbol: [[Tower of Babel]], [[The Tower (Tarot card)]], [[church tower]] |
|||
The term "tower" is also sometimes used to refer to firefighting equipment with an extremely tall ladder designed for use in firefighting/rescue operations involving high-rise buildings. |
|||
== See also == |
|||
* [[Additionally guyed tower]] |
|||
* [[Bell tower]] |
|||
* [[Campanile]] |
|||
* [[Inclined towers]] |
|||
* [[List of towers]] |
|||
* [[Partially guyed tower]] |
|||
* [[Turret]] |
|||
* [[Watchtower]] |
|||
* [[World's tallest structures]] |
|||
* [[World Federation of Great Towers]] |
|||
* [[Federal Communications Commission]] re FCC Broadcasting Tower Database (USA) |
|||
==Notes== |
|||
{{reflist}} |
|||
{{commonscat|Towers}} |
|||
[[Category:Towers|*]] |
|||
[[Category:Structural engineering]] |
|||
[[ar:برج (عمارة)]] |
|||
[[zh-min-nan:Thah]] |
|||
[[be:Вежа]] |
|||
[[be-x-old:Вежа]] |
|||
[[ca:Torre]] |
[[ca:Torre]] |
||
[[cs:Věž]] |
[[cs:Věž]] |
||