Have you ever stopped to look at a snowflake? I know, when it snows we are too busy dusting off the sleds and snow shoes, getting our skis strapped to the top of the car so we can be ready to beat the hordes of other snow bunnies that are speeding to the freshly powdered slopes. If you look closely at falling snow, you can see a great many different crystal shapes. There's a lot more to see than you might think! Did you know that different kinds of snowflakes fall in different places? Scientists don't know why this is and have created "Operation Snowflake"! This is a citizen science group...(You know, citizens, you and me...) to classify snowflakes. Yes! Isn't that exciting!! Don't laugh! Look at some of these beautiful shapes that have been photographed: A snowflake is actually a snow crystal. These snow crystals are very intricate and complicated. So calling a snow crystal a snowflake is like calling a tulip a flower. There are bazillions of snow crystals and they are each individual and different. Snow flakes do not come from drop of water. Instead, snow is formed when the gas, water vapor, is instantly frozen. The phase change is very fast from a gas to a frozen crystal. Frozen rain is called "sleet". The simplest snow flakes are little prisms of ice with hexagonal features, but no arms. Did you know: About a million billion snowflakes fall each second, averaged over a typical year. That's enough snow to make one snowman for every person on earth every ten minutes. (Of course, this is quite a rough estimate. The amount of total snowfall each year is not known well, nor is the average size of a snowflake.) Recent estimates indicate that HALF of the population of people on Earth have never seen a snowflake. So why would scientists care about snowflakes? Some believe that the type of snowflake that falls could determine how much water will be in reserve for the winter. Knowing this, hydrologists can estimate how much water cities and populations will have over the summer. A certain type of snowflake could determine whether it will be a drought year or a lots of water year. Okay, so why did I tell you all this? Because if we are ever in class and it starts to snow, we are going outside and look at snowflakes! WE are ready, got our coats, magnifying glasses, observation sheets. That's all we need and then we give the data to the Central Utah Conservancy scientists. They will LOVE us!
10 Comments
|
Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |