Snow! This semester at Denison we all have become very familiar with this term and therefore, I found it interesting to see exactly how snowflakes are formed and how they get their shape. Snowflakes form in clouds which consist of water vapor. This water vapor can then turn directly into ice which is known as homogenous nucleation. At temperatures between -5 C and -40 C snow begins in the atmosphere as water condenses on small (dust) particles forming tiny droplets that freeze which is also known as heterogeneous nucleation. Due to the differences in saturation vapor pressure over ice versus water, cloud droplets grow six evenly spaced branches. As the water vapor increases, the ice crystal becomes heavier and begins to fall. As they fall, the snowflakes receive their unique shape from the atmospheric con
ditions that they encounter. The ice crystals that make up snowflakes are symmetrical because they go through a process known as crystallization. Therefore, because of their molecular structure; water molecules form weak hydrogen bonds with one another and arrange themselves in predetermined spaces to form a very specific arrangement. These ordered arrangements result in the basic symmetrical, hexagonal shape or six-sided snowflake.http://www.sciencemaster.com/jump/physical/snowflakes.php
Posted by Dora Vines
I found this article very interesting because even though I live in Wisconsin, I had never really noticed the inticricy of snowflakes till I arrived at Denison. Apparently larger snowflakes are more common here, but I remember coming into my dorm after a snowy day and being so surprised that I could see the tiny detailed latices of the snowflake, because I had always assumed they were only visible under a microscope, or were merely an exaggeration to make snowflakes appear more picturesque in advertisements and decorations. It obviously makes sense that these structures occur because of hydrogen bonds, but it never occured to me before.
ReplyDeleteThis post was very interesting, I never knew that the snowflakes formed around a dust particle when the water vapor condensed. It is amazing how symmetrical and precise each flake of snow is when you are used to seeing it in large amounts such as in a snowstorm.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Swanson
Having always lived in an area that receives plenty of snow (Vermont), I have seen a lot of it over the course of my life, but I had never really wondered what makes some snow different from other snow. From this article I learned about how lighter "fluffy" snow, like that seen more often out west, is formed from the snow going through warmer temperatures and sticking together into larger flakes. This explains to me why Vermont, which is always freezing in the winter, seldom receives this type of light snow.
ReplyDelete--Will Black