Winter art of Nature: Snowflakes

Winter is here. In some colder places, snow quietly falls from the sky.

Snow consists of millions and millions of snowflakes which are crafted by the elements of weather. Each snowflake is as individual and unique as people are or any living thing on this planet.

Though as common as raindrops from the clouds or sand grains on the beach, snowflakes seem to be shrouded in mystery. Scientists have tried to solve the puzzle: "Is it really true that no two snowflakes are alike?"

The birth of a snowflake begins when a tiny dust or pollen particle comes into contact with water vapor. Then, the water vapor freezes the particle as a tiny crystal of ice high up in Earth's atmosphere.

Interestingly, the molecules of water that form each ice crystal naturally arrange themselves into a hexagonal shape. All snowflakes start out as a hexagonal crystal of ice and then "grow" delicate extensions (arms) forming intricate patterns. As snow crystals tumble through the air, they enlarge their shapes in an infinite number of ways of being six-sided.

The patterns of snowflakes can be grouped into the following:

1. Hexagonal plate - six-sided flat shapes, sometimes with a star pattern in the center of a hexagonal plate

2. Stellar plate: hexagonal plates that have bumps or unbranched arms, giving the snowflake a "star" appearance

3. Stellar dendrite: branching six-sided shapes

4. Fernlike stellar dendrite: branches of a snowflake that look feathery or like the fronds of a fern

5. Needles: look like needles which may be solid, hollow, or partially hollow

6. Column: six-sided columns that may be short and wide, long and thin, capped or even twisted

7. Bullets: column-shaped snowflakes tapered at one end, forming a bullet shape

8. Irregular: snowflakes that may have grown unevenly, broken, melted, or stuck to other snow crystals

What researchers know is that snowflakes form different shapes at different temperatures. In addition, pollution and other impurities in the air may contribute to the shape of a snow crystal. Believe it or not, most snowflakes are imperfect!

The weather temperature plays a major role in shaping the snowflakes. Here's a list of different temperatures that influence the patterns of ice crystal growth:

thin plates: 32-25F
needles: 25-21F
hollow columns: 21-14F
sector plates: 14-10F
dendrites: 10-3F

So, back to the question: "Is it really true that no two snowflakes are alike?"

What do you think?

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