Snowflake. This is an ice crystal that forms in air that has a temperature near the freezing point of water. If the air is calm,then a symmetrical,hexagonal snowflake can form. The two main growth patterns observed are faceting and branching. When growth is slow,the straight edges and hexagonal shapes of faceting create a plate snowflake. As a snowflake grows,instabilities cause branching and the star-shaped patterns of a dendritic snowflake. Snowflakes can display both types of growth. This one was mostly formed by plate growth. The type of growth also depends on temperature,which changes in a different way for each snowflake,causing the wide variation in snowflake patterns | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / Libbrecht, Kenneth |
Taille de l’image : | 2956 px × 2624 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |