The Chemistry of Snowflakes

Photography & Video Science

I'm a word nerd who loves to geek out on how emerging technology affects the lexicon. I was an editor on the first 40 volumes of MAKE, and I love shining light on the incredible makers in our community. In particular, covering art is my passion — after all, art is the first thing most of us ever made. When not fawning over perfect word choices, I can be found on the nearest mountain, looking for untouched powder fields and ideal alpine lakes.

Contact me at snowgoli@gmail.com or via @snowgoli.

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December 29th, 2012 11

The American Chemical Society has a great two-minute video explaining the basic chemistry behind snowflake formation, including how each degree of temperature difference adds to the branches of the flake. Are no two snowflakes really alike? It depends on if we’re talking about big snowflakes or little ones.

On a side note, the incredible snowflake photo above is the work of master snowflake photographer Ken Libbrecht, author of The Art of the Snowflake: A Photographic Album and Ken Libbrecht’s Field Guide to Snowflakes, both treasured books in my little library. Geek out some more on snow and read more about his special photography rig.