Tower

Tower

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Tower (disambiguation).

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France

Tokyo Skytree in Tokyo, Japan, thetallest tower in the world

Azadi Tower in Tehran, Iran, depicting Persian Architecture styles of various eras

The OTE Tower in Thessaloniki, Greece

CN Tower (world's sixth tallest freestanding structure) in Toronto,Ontario, Canada

Tower in Islamic architecture: old minaret (8th–9th century) of the Mosque of Uqba also known as the Great Mosque of Kairouan, city of Kairouan,Tunisia

Roman tower in Cologne with decorative inlay

A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.

Towers are specifically distinguished from "buildings" in that they are not built to be habitable but to serve other functions. The principal function is the use of their height to enable various functions to be achieved including: visibility of other features attached to the tower such clock towers; as part of a larger structure or device to increase the visibility of the surroundings as in a fortified building such as a castle; or as a structural feature as an integral part of a bridge.

Towers can be stand alone structures or be supported by adjacent buildings or can be a feature on top of a large structure or building.

Contents

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• 1Etymology
• 2History
• 3Mechanics
• 4Functions
  • 4.1Strategic advantages
  • 4.2Potential energy
  • 4.3Communication enhancement
  • 4.4Transportation support
  • 4.5Other towers
• 5Gallery
• 6See also
  • 6.1General
  • 6.2Towers in warfare
• 7References
• 8Further reading