With a winter waning away with weather that was wanting for
wishers of a winning snowfall, let’s stop to wonder at the beauty of a
snowflake. “No two snowflakes are alike” is a saying attributed to
Wilson Bentley, Vermont’s most famous resident and pioneer photographer
of individual snowflakes.
Of the billions and trillions of snowflakes that fall in NW lower Michigan in a normal winter season, there is often little notice given to the construct of this frozen speck of water.
Ski resorts rely on a goodly base of them. Those with pickup trucks and plows delight in daily snowfalls. Snowmobilers, with the abandon of the old West’s freegrazers, see no problem roaring their machines over others’ snow-laden property. (There is simply no policing possible of these violators of private property.)
On the other hand, snow deters traffic, causes fender-benders, and worse. Lots of money is spent by road commissions to keep roads free of snow. Mixtures of salt and snow create slush and rust deterioration of autos. Ten years of weekly commuting back and forth from near Ann Arbor left me with many moments of the sheer terror of black ice and memories of many vehicles in ditches or overturned. On one trip on I-96, I saw 15 vehicles in a row in the ditch because of slick roads.
However, the universe of the innocent snowflake is mind-boggling.
Enter Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht. In the mid-1990s his interest in the molecular dynamics of crystal growth resulted in detailed study of ice crystals and how they grow from water vapor. Using modern equipment and techniques, Libbrecht has surpassed the research of Bentley. While he can produce artificial snow at any time of the year at Caltech, his field research has taken him to all parts of North America where snow may be found. At least six books on snowflakes are listed on Amazon by Libbrecht. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Kenneth+G.+Libbrecht%27s+Snowflake+Books&x=16&y=18
Just take a look at the many, many varieties of snowflakes identified by Libbrecht viewable at http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/class/class.htm.
With due credit given to Libbrecht, below are five of my favorites he has imaged.
No. 1 – Split plates and stars
No. 2 – Another stellar dendrite
No. 3 – A double plate
No. 4 – A 12-sided flake
No. 5 – A rimed crystal
If anyone can say that such beauty and order are happenstance, look at the efforts of artificial snow. You can see from the picture below that artificial snow is made of frozen water droplets, with none of the elaborate structure found in real snow crystals.
According to Libbrecht, snow machines shoot a mixture of water and compressed air out of nozzles. The water comes out as fine droplets, and the air cools as it decompresses, causing the droplets to freeze. A fan blows the ice particles onto the slopes.
I view Libbrecht’s images and come away with a profound sense of awe. His work is opening not only new frontiers of science, but gives to me a reaffirmation of the magnificence of the hand of the divine Artist.
“Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (NAB Daniel 3:70)
Of the billions and trillions of snowflakes that fall in NW lower Michigan in a normal winter season, there is often little notice given to the construct of this frozen speck of water.
Ski resorts rely on a goodly base of them. Those with pickup trucks and plows delight in daily snowfalls. Snowmobilers, with the abandon of the old West’s freegrazers, see no problem roaring their machines over others’ snow-laden property. (There is simply no policing possible of these violators of private property.)
On the other hand, snow deters traffic, causes fender-benders, and worse. Lots of money is spent by road commissions to keep roads free of snow. Mixtures of salt and snow create slush and rust deterioration of autos. Ten years of weekly commuting back and forth from near Ann Arbor left me with many moments of the sheer terror of black ice and memories of many vehicles in ditches or overturned. On one trip on I-96, I saw 15 vehicles in a row in the ditch because of slick roads.
However, the universe of the innocent snowflake is mind-boggling.
Enter Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht. In the mid-1990s his interest in the molecular dynamics of crystal growth resulted in detailed study of ice crystals and how they grow from water vapor. Using modern equipment and techniques, Libbrecht has surpassed the research of Bentley. While he can produce artificial snow at any time of the year at Caltech, his field research has taken him to all parts of North America where snow may be found. At least six books on snowflakes are listed on Amazon by Libbrecht. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Kenneth+G.+Libbrecht%27s+Snowflake+Books&x=16&y=18
Just take a look at the many, many varieties of snowflakes identified by Libbrecht viewable at http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/class/class.htm.
With due credit given to Libbrecht, below are five of my favorites he has imaged.
No. 1 – Split plates and stars
No. 2 – Another stellar dendrite
No. 3 – A double plate
No. 4 – A 12-sided flake
No. 5 – A rimed crystal
If anyone can say that such beauty and order are happenstance, look at the efforts of artificial snow. You can see from the picture below that artificial snow is made of frozen water droplets, with none of the elaborate structure found in real snow crystals.
According to Libbrecht, snow machines shoot a mixture of water and compressed air out of nozzles. The water comes out as fine droplets, and the air cools as it decompresses, causing the droplets to freeze. A fan blows the ice particles onto the slopes.
I view Libbrecht’s images and come away with a profound sense of awe. His work is opening not only new frontiers of science, but gives to me a reaffirmation of the magnificence of the hand of the divine Artist.
“Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (NAB Daniel 3:70)
No comments:
Post a Comment