How are snowflakes formed? And why aren't all snowflakes alike? Let's find out!
Snow is beautiful and majestic; and snow is made up of beautiful snowflakes. But does each snowflake really have only one shape? Let’s find out the answer to this question together.
What is a snowflake?
Snowflakes are not frozen raindrops. Frozen raindrops are called hail.
Snow crystals are formed when water vapor freezes, all of which happens in clouds.
Snowflakes are also formed in clouds, this happens when water droplets freeze and become ice crystals.
The water vapor in the cloud gathers on this crystalline piece of ice, causing it to stretch into a basic hexagonal prism and then shoot out branches to create a harder and more complex shape.
When this happens, the snowflakes then change even more to make them unique.
How snowflakes form
All snowflakes form the same way. In the atmosphere, water vapor attaches to a speck of dust or pollen, and uses it as a nucleus to form a snowflake.
According to scientists, the shape of snowflakes is determined by air humidity and temperature. Most snowflakes are initially hexagonal. In the hexagonal form, the size of the snowflakes is so small that it is almost impossible to observe with the naked eye. But then their edges will change to create more complex shapes. The 6 petals of the snowflake are always decorated with symmetrical patterns.
Although they form in the same way, snowflakes end up with different shapes because humidity and atmospheric pressure are always changing, along with the constantly changing environmental temperature. Therefore, each snowflake will have its own unique, different shape when formed, and no two snowflakes are 100% alike.
To date, scientists have discovered about 108 types of snowflakes, which can be classified into four main shapes: flat, cylindrical, needle-shaped or tree-shaped.
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