'I'm always looking for the Hows and the Whys and the Whats,' said Muskrat, 'That is why I speak as I do. You've heard of Muskrat's Much-in-Little, of course?'
'No,' said the child. 'What is it?'
- The Mouse and his Child. Russell Hoban.

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Saturday 30 January 2010

Snow Crystals



In another of my efforts to make the world a Better Place, and given that I feel just a teeny bit guilty that here it is so hot I pull the curtains and go to the back bedroom to work, (and I've just seen that the high for Frankfurt and London today was 0ºC and Sheffield was -2ºC,) I bring to you:
Why Snow is Good.

Enter, courtesy of physicist Kenneth Libbrecht, the fascinating world of snow crystals.

He has invented a way of growing and photographing snow crystals, and, from over 7,000 of them, has posted the best (most symmetrical) ones on his website. Apart from serving up a feast for the eyes, he explains how and why they grow, why they all have the hexagon shape in common, and gives examples of the different shape types. Very interesting! And well worth a visit.



10 comments:

  1. Very beautiful.

    And by coincidence, I woke up this morning to the sight of snow! It snowed during the night - unexpectedly as the weather forecast hadn't indicated any. Very slippery on the pavements now.

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  2. This was great snow of art and of course since from Norway, I've seen quite a lot of it :-)

    In Oslo we have plenty of snow and -10C today.

    Btw: Thanks for the visit and comment - nice to meet you and really hope to see you at the Oslo Blog Gathering in August - together with bloggers from all over the world (from Down Under too :-)

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  3. We could use a bit of snow here, given that the Winter Olympics will be here in a couple of weeks and the mountains are bare. Ooops, that is what happens when you hold the Olympics by the Pacific in an El Nino year.

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  4. Wendy2.2.10

    Hi, these crystals look fantassstic, they don't make me feel any cooler though. Its hot and muggy, did you get washed away over the last few days. Hope your studio is still perched on the edge and not floating out to sea. LOL.... xx

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  5. Dad - take care on those pavements!

    Renny, Thanks for dropping by! Brr -10. I would LOVE to go to Oslo in August! Maybe! In the meantime I have spent half an hour 'flying' over Norway with Google Earth!

    DBM - yes, I hear you taking it from one place and helicoptering it to the site. Amazing! And on a 'bed' of straw too.

    Wendy - cooler today with that pleasant breeze, isn't it? Nope, the studio is still overlooking the river. Thanks for the loan of the OHP!

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  6. The crystals are beautiful. So was the snow when I first saw it. But after a few days when it was all icy and nasty and above all COLD I was - - oh, bring on summer!

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  7. Fabulous post, Katherine! I'm gonna share this with my readers... here in the North, many of whom are experiencing snow right now. Thanks!

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  8. Spring *will* come Daphne!

    Thank you Dan. I hope your readers enjoy it. I won't mention that we're off to the beach for a BBQ this afternoon.

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  9. Coincidence is a wonderful phenomenon. I was just reading a New Scientist article on snowflakes and then came to this. Whatever. They are stunningly beautiful events of nature (as so many of nature's events are.

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  10. Coincidences ... isn't the trendy term 'synchronicity' these days? I prefer the former. The latter smacks of fate. Which I don't believe in.

    I must be feeling better. I just had an argument with myself.

    Gets down off high horse.

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