What are the shapes of snow? There are several types of snowflake shapes

Although the snowflakes are strange, there are fine sand, goose feather 、、、

But nothing changes.

If you look closely, the snow is hexagonal.

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 axes—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. As for the main crystal axis, it is drawn from the intersection of the three auxiliary axes, and the well is perpendicular to the plane formed by the auxiliary axes. The most typical representative of the hexagonal crystal system is 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 the extension is 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.

The crescent moon and the remnants of the flowers, tired of the marks of the years, wandering and ......

The shape of the snow varies depending on the situation, and it is mostly hexagonal, but there are also flaky snowflakes, branched snowflakes, stellate snowflakes, etc. This is because the molecules of ice are hexagonal at the most, and for hexagonal sheet ice crystals, due to their different curvatures on their faces, edges, and corners, they correspondingly have different saturated water vapor pressures, with the saturated water vapor pressure on the horns being the largest. In fact, the water vapor pressure is the same, and the saturated water vapor pressure of each part of the ice crystal is different, and the condensation growth is also different.

The shape of the snow varies depending on the situation, and it is mostly hexagonal, but there are also flaky snowflakes, branched snowflakes, stellate snowflakes, etc. This is because the molecules of ice are hexagonal in the most, and for hexagonal sheet ice crystals, due to their different curvatures on the surface, edges, and corners, they correspondingly have different saturated water vapor pressures, of which the saturated water vapor pressure on the horns is the largest, the second on the edges, and the smallest on the plane. In the case of the same actual water vapor pressure, the condensation growth of ice crystals is also different due to the different saturated water vapor pressures of each part.

For example, when the actual water vapor pressure is only greater than the saturated water vapor pressure of the plane, the water vapor only condenses on the surface, forming columnar snowflakes. When the actual water vapor pressure is greater than the saturated water vapor pressure on the edge, condensation will occur on the edge and on the surface. Because the speed of condensation is also related to the curvature, the condensation is faster in places with large curvature, so the condensation on the edge of the ice crystal is faster than on the surface, and more flakes are formed.

When the actual water vapor pressure is greater than the saturated water vapor pressure on the corner, although there are water vapor condensation on the surface, edge, and corner, the position at the sharp corner is prominent. Water vapor ** is the most sufficient, and condensation grows the fastest, so it mostly forms dendritic or star-shaped snowflakes. This, combined with the constant movement of ice crystals and the changing temperature and humidity conditions, causes the various parts of the ice crystals to grow at an inconsistent rate, resulting in a wide variety of snowflakes.

There are 10 types of snowflakes in <>, 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-shaped snowflake, and branch-shaped snowflake.

1. The most basic form of snow crystal: This is the most basic form of snow crystal. 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 snowflake: This shape of snowflake is similar to hexagonal prism snowflake, except that its surface is decorated with various indentations and folds.

3. Astrolabe-shaped snowflakes: This thin disk-shaped snow crystal has 6 wide "branches" that form a shape similar to that of a star. Its faces are often decorated with extremely fine symmetrical patterns.

Astrolabe-shaped snowflakes are formed when the temperature is close to minus 2 degrees Celsius or close to -15 degrees Celsius, and is a relatively common form of snowflakes.

4. Fan-shaped snowflake: This is also a kind of astrolabe-shaped snow crystal, the difference is that there are unique ridges between the adjacent prismatic faces, pointing to the corners.

5. Star-shaped pine needle snowflakes: The snow crystals of this shape are larger, usually 2 to 4 mm in diameter, and are easy to observe with 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 branches of star-shaped snow crystals have a large number of side branches, which look very much 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 snowflake: This snowflake is a hexagonal cylinder with a conical hollow structure at both ends. Hollow cylindrical snow crystals are small and require a magnifying glass to see the hollow area.

8. Needle-like snowflake: Crystal is a "slim" cylinder that forms 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 an elongated 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 scene first grows into a short and thick column, and then is blown into an area of the cloud layer and becomes a disc there. Finally, two thin disc-shaped crystals grow at both ends of an icicle, forming a crown-shaped column on display.

10. Snowflakes of branches: This kind of snowflakes are actually composed of two snowflakes, one of which rotates 30 degrees relative to the other. Snowflakes like this are very rare.