Every snowflake is unique, with a microscopic one-of-a-kind hexagonal symmetric design. How do these beautiful shapes form in nature? Read to find out!
It is commonly said that no two snowflakes are identical. They can range all the way from simple hexagonal designs to intricate patterns, which are mainly due to the unique conditions they encounter as they fall from the sky.
Snowflakes generally have hexagonal patterns due to their chemical structure. Despite popular belief, snowflakes are actually not made from one single water droplet. Rather, they are made of droplets that have become frozen due to cold temperatures that stick to particles or dust in the air, forming crystals. This process of water forming bonds with each other (specifically, hydrogen bonds), is known as crystallization. Specifically for snowflakes, the process of water molecules bonding around dust or pollen to form a crystal is called nucleation.
What are hydrogen bonds? Hydrogen bonds are weak chemical bonds that form between hydrogen and oxygen from different water molecules. Since each water molecule is composed of two hydrogen bonds bonded to a single oxygen molecule, as multiple water molecules form bonds with each other, they end up forming a six-sided shape. However, they are usually not perfectly symmetrical, as the six arms form independently from each other.
As mentioned earlier, snowflakes get their shape based on the weather conditions they form in. The two main factors that influence their shapes changes in temperature and humidity. The fluctuating temperature affects when crystals form, and the amount of water content in the surrounding air impacts how many water molecules bond together to form the snowflake. Therefore, the chance of the exact same conditions occurring, even to the microscopic level, more than once is extremely rare, causing individual snowflakes to be so unique in shape.
Snowflakes are incredibly beautiful, but only if you can see them! Their designs are hard to spot without a tool that can help you observe at the microscopic level.
Thank you for reading!
References:
Ashish. “Why Do Snowflakes Have Such Fascinating Shapes?” Science ABC, 22 Jan. 2022, www.scienceabc.com/nature/why-do-snowflakes-have-such-a-fascinating-shape.html.
“How Do Snowflakes Form?” NOAA SciJinks – All About Weather, scijinks.gov/snowflakes.
“The Chemistry of Snowflakes, Explained.” University at Buffalo, 16 Jan. 2018, www.buffalo.edu/news/tipsheets/2018/001.html.
“Why Are Snowflakes Symmetrical? How Can Ice Crystallizing on One Arm ‘know’ the Shape of the Other Arms on the Flake?” Scientific American, 25 Dec. 2006, www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-are-snowflakes-symmet.
Opmerkingen