snow crystals catalogue
DESCRIPTION
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Pinnacle Press Inc. Saint Louis, Missouri
Copyright ©2014 by Lindsay Ruck
All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
isbn Number 0 - 9719857 - 0 - 0
Pinnacle Press Inc.5900 Berthold Ave.St. Louis, Missouri 63110
Book design by Lindsay Ruck
Printed in the United States of America
Dedicated to those working
the graveyard shift at Kinko’s.
Thank you.
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7
Intro
what is a snow crystal?
the crystalline ice structure
snow crystalformation
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3
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7
Intro
Looking up at the sky on a brisk, winter day, you might find tiny flakes dancing through the air as they make their way towards the earth. If you live in a part of the world where cold temperatures frequent the latter months of the year, chances are that you’ve encountered this phenomenon known as snow. Creating majestic landscapes across plains, mountains, and even your backyard, snow is one of Earth’s most alluring atmospheric gifts. These striking winter wonderlands, however, would not be possible if it weren’t for snow crystals. Without snow crystals, there would be no White Christmases or beloved snow days. Certain species of animals would fail to exist. The world, without them, would be a much less interesting and inspiring place. Snow crystals build the foundation for snow and snow accumulation. It is estimated that each year, a million billion cubic feet of snow falls to the Earth. All of this snow weighs in at roughly a million billion kilograms. As a typical snow crystal weighs around one millionth of a gram, this means that a cubic foot of snow can contain close to one billion crystals! Most snow crystals measure at less than one half-inch across, while the smallest may only be four-thousandths of an inch. These crystals are sometimes microscopic and not visible by the naked eye. Under certain conditions though, larger crystals can occur, some measuring up to two inches long. In fact, the world’s largest snow crystal that occurred in Montana in 1887 was almost fifteen inches wide and 8 inches thick! These snow crystals come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, all depending on changing atmospheric conditions. This makes for extraordinary diversity in the crystals. You might have heard the old adage that “no two snowflakes are alike.” You won’t find two complex snow crystals that look exactly identical. However, this does not hold true for all snow crystals. All snow crystals begin as simple, hexagonal prisms. When they are in the very early stages of formation, these hexagonal prism crystals may look alike, but they quickly change as the atmospheric conditions become increasingly unstable. Thus, it is highly unlikely that any two complex crystals in the history of snow crystals have ever looked completely alike.
This book takes a simplified look at snow crystals, in all their wonder, defining what exactly a snow crystal is, the structure that makes up the crystals, and finally, their formation. Enjoy!
what is a
snowcrystal?
A snow crystal is a
single crystal of ice where
its internal symmetry is
reflected by a regular
surface pattern.
The term “snowflake”
means anything from
a single crystal of ice
to several crystals
stuck together.
4
what is a
snowcrystal?
o
h
h
Snow crystals are composed
of hydrogen and oxygen. For
every oxygen atom, there are
two hydrogen atoms, creating
the water molecule H2O.
Oxygen
Hydrogen
The water molecules form
a hexagonal lattice as the
snow crystals grow larger.
o
H
H
Oxygen
Hydrogen
That’s how snow crystals get
their six-fold symmetry. The
structure of the lattice is re�ected
in its external structure.
Hexagonal Lattice
thecrystallineice structure
15
o
h
h
Snow crystals are composed
of hydrogen and oxygen. For
every oxygen atom, there are
two hydrogen atoms, creating
the water molecule H2O.
Oxygen
Hydrogen
The water molecules form
a hexagonal lattice as the
snow crystals grow larger.
o
H
H
Oxygen
Hydrogen
That’s how snow crystals get
their six-fold symmetry. The
structure of the lattice is re�ected
in its external structure.
Hexagonal Lattice
7
Every snow crystal begins
as a dust particle in the clouds.
Water molecules then
condense onto the surface
of the particle, and then onto
each other in a hexagonal
lattice formation.
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2
snow crystalformation
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3
4
The hexagonal lattice then
begins to grow into a prism.
Depending on the conditions,
different surfaces grow at
different rates.
When the temperature changes,
it causes arms to grow on the
corners. The arms grow faster
than the rest of the crystal and
become more prominent.
20
The temperatures and conditions
continue to change as the snow
crystal falls through the air causing
plate growth to change further.
Different temperatures and
varying conditions create
different crystal shapes.
12
5
This book was created by Lindsay Ruck under the supervision of Jennifer McKnight as an assignment in Advanced Problems Graphic Design II in the Spring semester of the year 2014 at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Spreads were composed in Adobe InDesign CS5. All patterns and design elements were created in Adobe Illustrator CS5. The typefaces used were Caecilia lt Std and Intro, all varying in weight and size. The book is printed on 11x17 32lb bright white laser paper.