Snowflakes can be any old fleck that falls from a wintertime cloud , but when we spill about the case-by-case structure that gets slapped all over festive decorations , we ’re spill the beans about snow crystals . Their growth pattern is dictated by environmental conditions , typically ramify out with six - fold balance , but is there a demarcation line to how openhanded they can get ? It depends on what you ’re talking about .
“ On the nighttime of 29 November 2024 , a fierce wintertime storm drop snowflakes described as ‘ enceinte than Milk River pan ’ over the Clark Fork River vale , in the vicinity of a cattle ranch own by Matt Coleman , near Missoula in Montana , USA , ” saysGuinness World Records . “ Reports suggest that they were up to 1 foot 3 in ( 38 cm ) wide and 8 in ( 20 cm ) fatheaded . ”
Here , the snowflake vs. coke quartz glass distinction becomes important because these grotesque pan - sizing snow dung may have been clunk of many snow crystal smushed together . Charles Percy Snow crystals are the solution of piddle freezing from a gas ( vaporization ) directly to a firm ( ice ) without first becoming liquid state , whereas a Plectrophenax nivalis can be any old icy lump falling from the sky .
Someone who is very intimate with C. P. Snow watch crystal isProfessor of Physics at Caltech Dr Kenneth Libbrecht , whose vocation has take on the enigma of why snow crystals form in different form . “ That was a mystifier it just seemed like somebody should work , ” hetold IFLScience . “ That ’s an embarrassment to the scientific community that we do n’t know how that works . I have in mind , this poppycock falls out of the sky . ”
In his 20 + year career studying C crystals , he ’s established a model that can explain why dissimilar temperature give ascension to unlike bodily structure , as well as tackling the question “ Are no two snowflake alike ? ” by produce what he termed “ identical twin ” watch crystal in a lab setting .
After depend at so many , it ’s no surprisal that the platter for the largest single C crystallization is attribute to one of Libbrecht ’s observations in the wilderness . He find a massive crystal that measured 10 millimeters ( 0.39 inch ) from tip to tip . Might not sound that big , but considering your typical stellar dendrite is around2 to 4 millimetersin diameter , it ’s actually reasonably enormous .
Just like birdwatching , snow crystal enthusiasts detect snow bunting to see what crystalline structures they can ID . Want to try it and see if you’re able to top Libbrecht ’s phonograph record ? ? Here are some of his top tips :
Then , all you need is some cold weather and a bit of patience .
[ H / T : Live scientific discipline ]
