Is it really true that no two ********** are alike?

[SexyGreyFox]

Just wasted a good 30 minutes on this interesting site with some great images and thought I'd share - http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos/photos.htm

 

[tankskun]

nice pics

 

[KNiVES]

********** are the ultimate example of fractals in nature and in motion.

 

[Cosimo]

On the question of no two ********** being the same:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070213-*********.html

 

[sniffy]

Those pictures are amazing. Nice share.

 

[Helios1234]

On the question of no two ********** being the same:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070213-*********.html

Interesting article and great pictures in the OP.

 

[Vonhelmet]

Apparently, if you melt a ********* and then re-freeze it, it will re-crystallise in exactly the same shape.

No idea whether that's true, but I kinda like to think it is.

 

[Stuff]

Beautiful photos

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Apparently, if you melt a ********* and then re-freeze it, it will re-crystallise in exactly the same shape.

No idea whether that's true, but I kinda like to think it is.

On the site I linked it's a myth.

 

[Landy]

Brilliant site!

 

[Vonhelmet]

On the site I linked it's a myth.

And nonsense!

 

[Heliospherez]

And from what I remember - the pattern has a lot to do with the speed of freezing and the amount of chemical/biological impurities (which can run into thousands for snow).

 

[Naffa]

Simply transcendent, and simply beautiful. Wow.

 

[EdGey]

That is awesome.

 

[Mason-]

Wow love that.

 

[ChroniC]

Ok, they never will be the same, but is no one curious why they all exhibit the same principles, the simplest being that they all have six (prongs/legs/angles/arms) whatever you want to call them.

I find it stranger that they are conforming to that, than being random.

 

[Marky]

Great photos

 

[PGdude]

Chances are that two flakes can be the same.


Just going by scientific probability here. Just imagine how many snow flakes there are/have been in the world. Now consider the number of circumstantial conditions that can form a particular ********* shape. This includes starting temperature before freezing, final temperature, amount of water molecules, altitude and the pressure at that altitude, and humidity. The likelihood of that specific being replicated at some point in all of Earth's time is... well. 100%, I'd say. So yes, I'd say there have been ********** that are alike.


Edit: Almost forgot. Maaan those images are beautiful.

 

[wilko49]

you say that, but what we actually need to know is the number of combinations of crystal structures that are possible, compared to the number of ********** that have fallen. remember, there are 1000 stars for every grain of sand on earth.

 

[PGdude]

you say that, but what we actually need to know is the number of combinations of crystal structures that are possible, compared to the number of ********** that have fallen. remember, there are 1000 stars for every grain of sand on earth.

And remember that there is an exact copy of our Earth, out there, with exact copies of us doing what we do, somewhere out there.