Not all snowflakes are alike! I bet you already knew that....the big question is: Why don't snowflakes look the same? Isn't it all water, except snow is frozen water? The most recognizable snowflakes have "dendrites". These are crystals that look like branches. We saw the makings of some of these snowflakes, except ours were mostly clumped up in big crystal...blobs? That's the best I could explain it. So does it matter how a snowflake looks, is there a reason sometimes a snowflake has branches or looks like a ball? As it turns out, yes! The way a snow flake looks tells us how much water they hold. This makes a huge difference to hydrologists (water scientists). By looking at snowflakes they can predict if the snow pack will hold lots of water or little water. The science of snowflakes is real!! According to snowcrystals.com: “A snow crystal, as the name implies, is a single crystal of ice. A snowflake is a more general term; it can mean an individual snow crystal, or a few snow crystals stuck together, or large agglomerations of snow crystals that form ‘puff-balls’ that float down from the clouds.” How do they start forming...to look like...they do? Well, a water droplet freezes into a little "seed crystal". And then other water droplets freeze all over that seed crystal creating more snow crystals. The most interesting part of this story is that the original water droplet needs a dirt particle to form around. So the little, starting, seed crystal has to freeze onto a tiny piece of dirt! Note: Snowflakes are not created from frozen raindrops. The scientists at snowcrystals.com know their stuff! "Water molecules — made of one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms each — are really responsible for the familiar six-sided shape we associate with snowflakes. “Atoms and molecules can hook up in different ways and, in the case of water, they like to hook up into a hexagonal lattice,” said Libbrecht, who studies the physics of crystal growth. “That underlying structure is how the crystal gets its sixfold symmetry.” Temperature also plays a major role in crystal formation. If it is warmer, the crystals will form differently than if it is negative degrees outside and snowing. I think I've found my new addiction: watching snowflake videos! Just amazing!!
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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 |