2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
For several centuries, the minds of mankind have not left indifferent the riddle of the formation of snowflakes. Their perfectly constructed hexagon shape is presented in a different way every time. Only the achievements of scientific progress of the last century have made it possible to answer some exciting questions in this area
What makes a snowflake?
It would seem a simple question, the answer to which even a schoolboy can give. Most people believe that snowflakes are frozen water droplets. This statement is fundamentally wrong. In fact, they are formed due to the condensation of water vapor on ice crystals, bypassing the liquid phase. The first ice crystal may well form from water. Further construction of a complex "beauty" structure is only due to the addition of vapor molecules to it.
Why is the hexagon formed?
Symmetry in the structure of snowflakes is embedded in the ice crystal lattice. Water molecules attach to each other only at an angle of 120 or 60 degrees. This always creates a hexagonal prism.
Smooth edges are formed first. New vapor molecules occupy free spaces. Then roughness and protrusions appear, to which the side rays are attached. The snowflake swirling in the air grows overgrown with new formations until all the voids are filled. The longer construction continues, the more complex the shape of the final product becomes, and its size increases. The surface of the snowflake is in equal conditions, so new rays grow symmetrically in all areas.
Records
Large crystals are most often found near reservoirs, lakes, rivers with an open water surface. Evaporation from reservoirs contributes to the growth of mass. Protection of forest plantations, ensures the safety of fluffy "beauties" from the destructive effects of the wind.
Several records for the largest snowflakes have been recorded on the globe. In the Moscow region in 1944, a "beauty" the size of an adult's palm was discovered. In 1887, in the US state of Montana, a snowflake diameter of 38 cm was recorded, with a thickness of 20 cm. Such giants appear very rarely. The usual sizes of fluffy formations do not exceed a few millimeters.
What parameters affect the shape?
The structure of a snowflake depends on several external factors:
• route of movement;
• wind speed;
• humidity and air temperature;
• atmospheric pressure;
• construction time.
Snowflake classification
“There are no two identical snowflakes,” scientists said based on years of research. In order to somehow understand this diversity, the International Commission of 1951 identified 7 main forms of crystals:
1. Plates.
2. Columns or columns.
3. Star-shaped.
4. Needles.
5. Spatial dendrites.
6. Columns with tips.
7. Wrong formations.
Under what conditions each species is obtained is shown in the diagram.
Cutting out snowflakes from paper
To keep the memory of winter, let's try to do the creative process. It is not at all easy to make a wonderful copy of a fluffy "beauty" out of paper. This requires some skill, boundless imagination and accuracy of scissors movements.
Let's take a perfectly white napkin as a basis. Fold it in the form of a triangle, then fold it in half again. The last fold goes to the center, dividing the shape into three parts. Cut off the uneven ends. Drawing a template. Cut out neatly along the lines with scissors. We unfold, admire the results of our work.
The technology is shown in more detail in the figure below.
Let's make some templates for example.
The rest depends on your personal preference and imagination. Involve your children or grandchildren in this process. Work will become more interesting and more fun.
How many discoveries have been made by scientists in this area in recent years? It's hard to count. But mysterious snow crystals still remain the most mysterious "product" of our Universe.
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