What is the shape of a snowflake? What is the shape of a snowflake?

This has to do with the crystallization habit of water. The crystallization properties of natural frozen ice and snow crystallized by water vapor condensation in the atmosphere belong to the hexagonal crystal system. The hexagonal crystal system has four crystalline shafts – one major axis plus three auxiliary axes.

The three auxiliary axes are distributed in the same plane and intersect each other symmetrically at an angle of sixty degrees. The main axis is derived from the intersection of the three auxiliary axes and is perpendicular to the plane formed by the auxiliary axes. The most typical representative of the hexagonal crystal system is like a regular hexahedral cylinder in geometry.

When the water vapor is crystallized, if the main crystal axis develops slower and shorter than the other three auxiliary axes, then the shape of the snow becomes hexagonal snow flakes, and if the main crystal axis develops quickly and extends longer, then the shape of the snow becomes hexagonal. The temperature in the atmosphere plays a large role in the shape of snowflakes. If the temperature is high, it is easy to produce hexagonal snow flakes, and if the temperature is low, it is easy to produce columnar snow crystals.

According to the observations and studies of many scientists, when the atmospheric temperature is below -25, the shape of snow is mostly hexagonal prism with the main crystal axis developing. At temperatures of -25 -15, the crystals of the snow are mostly hexagonal flakes; When the temperature is -15 0, most of the snow in the sky is beautiful six-pointed star-shaped.

A snowflake is made up of two equilateral triangles, one positive and one negative.

The snowflakes are very beautiful and have a variety of different shapes due to aerodynamic forces during landing. There is a saying that you can't find two snowflakes that are exactly the same in the world. Go to the science network and search it, it's beautiful.

The shape of the snowflake is hexagonal. Snowflakes are a beautiful crystal, also known as Weiyang flower and Liuchu. The basic shape of a snowflake is hexagonal, but it can take on a variety of shapes depending on the environment.

It's almost impossible to find two identical snowflakes in nature. This is mainly due to the fact that the temperature and humidity in the snowfall cloud change rapidly as the snowflakes grow, and the shape of the snowflakes will vary if there is a slight difference.

Causes of formationThe shape of a snowflake is involved in the crystallization process of water in the atmosphere. When the water molecules in the atmosphere cool below freezing, they begin to condense and form crystals of water, known as ice crystals. Ice crystals, like all other crystals, have their most basic property of having their own regular geometry.

Ice crystals belong to the hexagonal crystal system, which has four crystalline axes, of which three auxiliary axes are in a plane and intersect each other at an angle of 60 degrees. The other main axis is perpendicular to the plane formed by these three auxiliary axes. The most typical shape of the hexagonal crystal system is the hexagonal prism. However, when the crystallization process is slow in the main axis direction and fast in the auxiliary axis direction, the crystal will be hexagonal sheet.

Optimal: Hexagonal or hollow ice prism at most.

Snowflakes are basically six-pointed stars as a wholeBut there are many differences in subtle morphology. For example, some snowflakes resemble a hexagonal sheet, some snowflakes resemble a star with hexagonal rays, and some snowflakes resemble columnar chalk.

Because the difference in the shape of snowflakes depends largely on the temperature and humidity in the clouds. For example, six-petal stellate snowflakes only grow in a narrow temperature range where cloud temperatures are around -15, while coniferous and columnar snowflakes are most commonly formed in clouds around -6.

The physical process of snowflake formation

The composition of snowflakes is water, so the physical steps of the formation of snowflakes are: water vapor water ice.

The clouds in the sky contain the physical changes of water. Clouds can be composed of small water droplets or Xiaoice crystals or a mixture, and raindrops and snowflakes are formed by the growth and growth of small water droplets and Xiaoice crystals.

In the snowy clouds, there are many small Xiaoice crystals due to the temperature. When these Xiaoice crystals collide with each other, the surface of the ice crystals will heat up and melt somewhat, and they will stick to each other and freeze again. This is repeated many times, and the ice crystals increase.

In addition, there is also water vapor in the clouds, so the ice crystals can continue to grow by condensation.

Snowflakes come in many shapes and are very beautiful. If you put the snowflakes under a magnifying glass, you can see that each snowflake is an extremely beautiful pattern. But how are the various snowflake shapes formed?

Snowflakes are mostly hexagonal in shape, and this is because snowflakes belong to the hexagonal crystal system. The variety of snowflake shapes is closely related to the water vapor conditions at the time of its formation. Snowflakes in the clouds"Embryos"There are two main shapes of Xiaoice crystals.

One is hexagonal, long and thin, called column crystal, but sometimes its ends are pointed, like a needle, called needle crystal. The other type is in the shape of a hexagonal flake, like a thin slice cut from a hexagonal pencil, called a flake crystal.

If the surrounding air is less saturated, the ice crystals will grow very slowly and evenly on all sides. As it grows and falls, it retains its original appearance and is called columnar, needle-shaped, and flake-shaped snow crystals, respectively.

For hexagonal flake ice crystals, due to the different degrees of curvature on their surfaces, edges and corners, they correspondingly have different saturated water vapor pressures, among which the saturated water vapor pressure on the corners is the largest, followed by the edges, and the smallest on the plane. In the case of the same water vapor pressure, the condensation growth of ice crystals is also different due to the different saturated water vapor pressures on the surface, edges and corners of ice crystals. If the water vapor in the cloud is not very abundant, the actual water vapor pressure is only greater than the saturated water vapor pressure of the plane, and the water vapor only condenses on the surface, and the formation is a columnar snowflake; If there is a little more water vapor, the actual water vapor pressure is greater than the saturated water vapor pressure on the edge, and the water vapor will condense on the edge and on the surface, because the speed of condensation is also related to the degree of bending, the condensation is faster in places with a large degree of bending, so the condensation on the edge of the ice crystal is faster than that on the surface, and more flakes are formed at this time; If the water vapor in the cloud is very abundant, the actual water vapor pressure is greater than the saturated water vapor pressure on the corner, so that there are water vapor condensation on the surface, edge, and corner, but the position of the sharp corner is prominent, the water vapor ** is the most sufficient, and the condensation grows the fastest, so it forms more branch-like or stellate snowflakes.

In addition, the constant movement of ice crystals and the changing temperature and humidity conditions in which they are exposed to ice crystals result in the various parts of the ice crystals growing at different rates, resulting in a variety of snowflakes.

There are 10 types of snowflakes, which are the most basic form of snow crystal, common prismatic snowflake, astrolabe-shaped snowflake, fan-shaped snowflake, star-shaped pine needle snowflake, star-shaped fern snowflake, hollow columnar snowflake, needle-shaped snowflake, crown columnar snowflake, and branch snowflake.

1. The most basic form of snow crystal

This is the most basic form of snow crystals. Snow crystals like these are usually small and difficult to see with the naked eye. Hexagonal prism snow crystals are what most snowflakes begin with, then grow "branches" and form more delicate structures.

2. Ordinary prismatic snowflakes

This shape of snowflake is similar to a hexagonal plank, except that its face is decorated with various dents and folds.

3. Astrolabe-shaped snowflakes

This thin, disc-shaped snow crystal has 6 broad "branches" that form a shape similar to that of a star. Its faces are often decorated with extremely fine symmetrical patterns. Astrolabe-shaped snowflakes form when the temperature is minus 2 degrees Celsius or minus 15 degrees Celsius, and it is a relatively common form of snowflakes.

4. Fan-shaped snowflakes

This is also a type of astrolabe-shaped snow crystal, except that it has a unique ridge between the prismatic faces, pointing to the corners.

5. Star-shaped pine needles and snowflakes

Snow crystals of this shape are large, typically 2 to 4 mm in diameter, and are easily visible to the naked eye. They are one of the most popular of all snow crystal types, and we can see them on a wide variety of holiday decorations.

6. Star-shaped fern-shaped snowflakes

The branches of the tree have a large number of side branches with stellate snow crystals, which look like ferns. They are the largest of all snow crystals, usually reaching 5 mm or more in diameter. Despite being "big", they are still single ice crystals, made up of water molecules connected end to end.

The powdery snow that flies to your knees when skiing is made of these snow crystals. They are usually thin and light, capable of forming a low-density snow field.

7. Hollow columnar snowflakes

This snowflake is a hexagonal cylinder with a tapered hollow structure at both ends. Hollow cylindrical snow crystals are small and require a magnifying glass to see the hollow area.

8. Needle-shaped snowflakes

Crystals are "slim" cylinders that form at about minus 5 degrees Celsius. If they fall down your sleeves, there's a good chance you'll mistake them for gray hair. When the temperature changes, the shape of snow crystals changes from a thin, flat disc to a slender needle, which is the most wonderful thing about them.

To date, scientists have not been able to explain why this change has occurred.

9. Crowned columnar snowflakes

The snow first grows into short, thick columns, and then is blown into an area of the clouds, where it becomes a disc. Finally, two thin disc-shaped crystals grow at both ends of an icicle, forming a crown-shaped column on display.

10. Snowflakes on branches

This snowflake is actually a combination of two snowflakes, one of which rotates 30 degrees relative to the other. Snowflakes like this are very rare.

People have long been aware of the shape of snowflakes. Han Ying in the Western Han Dynasty of China discovered: "Where there are more than five plants and flowers, there are only six snowflakes."

That is, snowflakes are six-petaled, hexagonal. Snowflakes come in many forms, but each snowflake is hexagonal, which is the beauty that nature presents to us, and it is also a problem for us.

Snowflakes, like cute elves, wander and fly in the clouds; It is like dandelions, spinning and rising in the air.

Details:

So why are snowflakes mostly hexagonal?

Because the basic tissue of snowflakes is ice embryos, each ice embryo is made up of 5 water molecules. Four of the water molecules are on the apex corner of one tetrahedron, and one is located in the center of the tetrahedron. Many ice embryos are connected to each other to form ice crystals, and many ice crystals combine to form snowflakes.

Therefore, the hexagonal shape of snowflakes is related to how some water molecules combine to form ice embryos, and how ice embryos combine to form ice crystals.

If the ice embryos are combined in a flat row, we can see not only the original hexagonal crystals, but also how the new hexagonal crystals grow from the original hexagonal snowflakes as the water molecules are combined one by one.

Snowflakes are mainly in two shapes, hexagonal and hexagonal flakes. Hexagonal snowflakes are thin and pointed, while angular flakes resemble pencil shavings cut from a pencil sharpener. If the air around the snowflakes is highly saturated, the ice crystals will grow rapidly and change shape as they grow in size.

Usually hexagonal flakes evolve into hexagonal star-shaped snowflakes.

When it increases to a certain extent and falls due to gravity, it retains its original shape and becomes a hexagonal or hexagonal flake of snowflakes. If the air around the snowflakes is highly saturated, the ice crystals will grow rapidly and change shape as they grow in size. Usually hexagonal flakes evolve into hexagonal star-shaped snowflakes.

According to research, snowflakes vibrate when they float in the air, and this vibration is carried out around the point of symmetry. In this way, the snowflakes in the process of growth are guaranteed, always maintaining a hexagonal shape. As for the hexagon, it is related to the different temperature and humidity conditions in the air when the snowflakes are floating in the air.

Some people have also studied different shapes of snowflakes, and there are more than 6,000 different subtle shapes!

The shape of the snowflake is basically hexagonal.

There are so many shapes of snowflakes that each snowflake is an extremely delicate pattern that even many artists have admired. Snowflakes are mostly hexagonal in shape, and this is because snowflakes belong to the hexagonal crystal system. Snowflakes in the clouds"Embryos"There are two main shapes of Xiaoice crystals.

One is hexagonal, long and thin, called column crystal, but sometimes its ends are pointed, like a needle, called needle crystal. The other is in the form of hexagonal flakes, like the flakes cut from a hexagonal pencil, called flakes. Because the crystal surface of the snowflake diffuses the reflection of light, cavity search causes the color of the snow to appear white without a rounded ridge.

The role of snow is as follows:

1. Snow is conducive to the growth and development of crops.

Because snow conducts heat very poorly, the soil surface is covered with a snow cover, which can reduce the transfer of soil heat and block the invasion of cold air on the snow surface, so the crops protected by snow can safely overwinter. Snow also stores water for crops. In addition, snow enhances soil fertility.

2. Snow purifies the air.

The most basic condition for the formation of rain and snow is the existence of "condensation nuclei" in the atmosphere, and solid impurities such as dust, coal particles, and minerals in the atmosphere are the most ideal condensation nuclei for infiltration. Therefore, snowflakes can wash a lot of pollutants in the air. Therefore, after a heavy snowfall, the air is exceptionally fresh.

3. Snow can absorb noise.

It has been determined that the density of fresh snow is generally grams per cubic centimeter. Therefore, the reflectivity of snow on the ground to sound waves is very low, and it can absorb a large amount of sound waves, which can contribute to noise reduction. <>