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📘 A snowflake starts as an ice crystal

A snowflake begins when water vapor in a cold cloud deposits onto a tiny ice nucleus.

4
lessons
~20 min
to learn
Adults
level
Start the course →

What you’ll learn

  1. Crystal basicsExplain how ice nuclei and hexagonal lattice geometry start a snow crystal.Vapor deposits onto nuclei and organizes into six-sided crystal faces.
  2. Growth conditionsRelate temperature, supersaturation, and branching at crystal corners.Temperature selects habit; humidity controls how fast edges advance into branches.
  3. Path and collisionsDescribe how falling through cloud zones and collisions change crystal form.A crystal records the environments it crosses; aggregates and rime add irregularity.
  4. Reading snowUse shape as evidence while acknowledging limits of one photograph.Structure hints at growth history, but scientists compare many specimens and measurements.

Questions this course answers

Why do snow crystals usually have sixfold symmetry?

The molecular arrangement of ordinary ice creates sixfold crystal geometry.

What does temperature mainly influence during crystal growth?

Temperature changes the relative growth rates of different crystal faces.

Why can higher supersaturation produce branches?

Rapid vapor supply makes edge instabilities and side branching more likely.

Why can one crystal contain sections with different habits?

A falling crystal may encounter several growth regimes before reaching the ground.

What makes an aggregate snowflake different from a single crystal?

Aggregates record collisions between crystals during their descent.

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