How Do Snowflakes Form?

Snowflake images from Alexey Kljatov: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chaoticmind75/

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This week Reactions is taking a microscopic look at snowflake science and how they form. Huge snowstorms and blizzards dump feet of snow from the skies every year, and that means trillions of tiny snowflakes. Through advances in crystallography, scientists have learned a lot about the structure of snowflakes. While they all start pretty much the same, once they start crystallizing, it’s true that no two snowflakes are alike. In fact, the number of possible shapes is staggering.

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Great infographic on the shapes of snowflakes from Compound Interest:
http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/12/10/snowflakes/

Music: Crookram- Bij De Rest (Creative Commons license)
https://soundcloud.com/crookram

Producer/Writer:
Elaine Seward

Executive Producer:
Adam Dylewski

Scientific consultants:
Jon Nelson, Ph.D.
Sophia Cai
Darcy Gentleman, Ph.D.

Sources:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cg049685v
https://acswebcontent.acs.org/journalist_resources/snowflakes.pdf
http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/12/10/snowflakes/

Ever wonder why dogs sniff each others' butts? Or how Adderall works? Or whether it's OK to pee in the pool? We've got you covered: Reactions a web series about the chemistry that surrounds you every day.

Reactions is produced by the American Chemical Society.

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