Electric Fields and snow crystals

Electric Fields And Snow Crystals 

Snow crystals are ice crystals  grown from water vapor in the air and the varied forms they take.

Nakaya diagram

Field causes a split then parallel growth

In 1611 a book was released by Johannes Kepler titled , ” A New Years Gift of Hexagonal Snowflakes.” Kepler argued the hexagonal shape of snow crystals had to do with the packing of spheres. This led to Keplers famous conjecture on the densest possible filling of space by spheres. A very intriguing theory. By 1635 Renee Descartes made the most detailed observations of his time. 300 years later, Wilson Bently and William Humphreys came to make the most detailed depiction of their time, a book titled “snow crystals” in 1932 Hokkaido Japan, Nuclear Physcist Ukichiro Nakaya after being captivated by “Snow Crystals” the book. He began his own research with students that led to the  nakaya diagram. With over 3,000 photographs he classified into 40 morphological groups. He states, ” the shapes are a result of the temperature and super-saturation of the atmosphere through which the crystals moved.”(1)

You can gather data about the atmosphere it was made in by making observations on the ground of its morphology. such as temperature and humidity which are main factors in snow crystal formation. The diagram shows the basic physics associated with the principal dynamic shape transitions. Depending on temperature of growth. Forms at small super saturation. are hexagonal plates or prisms.

A crystals facets reflect the symmetry of the underlying crystal structure. Surface energy of the forementioned is variant to the sum of all the bonds broken per unit area during the creation of its surface by cleavage. When  crystal grows it receives molecules from the vapor phase. If it is molecularly rough it will find a ready place for incorporation. If it is a facet it diffuses along the facet until it finds a ledge,corner, or edge to attach to. It can meetup with other molecules and create expanding columns on the surface. it can also detach and return to vapor state.

Electric fields and snowflakes

 Electric fields influence the way water molecules diffuse through the air in the vicinity of the ice surface. If we charge a growing crystal, then electrostatics purports that strong electric fields will be set up around the crystal. The fields and gradients will be strong near any sharp points on the crystal.In  experiments crystals actually formed electric needles that formed out of the tips while some actually split and replicated.. In other dendrites symmetrical growths formed when voltages were applied.(2)

please follow this link for more information and extensive details. on this particular study.

(2) http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/electric/electric.html

(1) http://culter.colorado.edu/~kittel/Snow&IceCrystals_PhysTday_Furukawad07.pdf