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📘 How snowflakes get their shapes

Learn how ice lattices, temperature, humidity, branching, riming, and aggregation shape snow.

lessons

~10 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Adults

level

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What you’ll learn

Crystal seed
Hexagonal lattice
Temperature
Humidity
Branches
Plates and columns
Riming
Aggregation
Melting
Symmetry and variation

Questions this course answers

Why do ordinary snow crystals have six-fold symmetry?

The molecular arrangement of common atmospheric ice is hexagonal.

What generally supplies material for crystal growth?

Supersaturated vapor deposits onto the ice crystal.

What is riming?

Riming coats an ice particle when supercooled liquid droplets freeze on contact.

How do separate crystals become a snowflake?

Aggregation joins crystals through collisions aided by sticky or rimed surfaces.

What determines whether falling snow becomes rain?

Warm and cold layers control melting and refreezing during descent.

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