where dose all the white go when the snow melts?

Answer 1

So, since snow is frozen water, and we all know that frozen water is clear, why does snow have a distinctive color? To understand this, we need to back up and look at an individual piece of ice. Ice is not transparent; it's actually translucent. This means that the light photons don't pass right through the material in a direct path -- the material's particles change the light's direction. This happens because the distances between some atoms in the ice's molecular structure are close to the height of light wavelengths, which means the light photons will interact with the structures. The result is that the light photon's path is altered and it exits the ice in a different direction than it entered the ice.

Snow is a whole bunch of individual ice crystals arranged together. When a light photon enters a layer of snow, it goes through an ice crystal on the top, which changes its direction slightly and sends it on to a new ice crystal, which does the same thing. Basically, all the crystals bounce the light all around so that it comes right back out of the snow pile. It does the same thing to all the different light frequencies, so all colors of light are bounced back out. The "color" of all the frequencies in the visible spectrum combined in equal measure is white, so this is the color we see in snow, while it is not the color we see in the individual ice crystals that form snow.

When it melts it it is no loner in crystal form and that is why you cant see it

Answer 2

snow is actually reflecting all colors of the light spectrum and so appears white. The reflection is off the ice crystals that form snow. Once it melts it is just water and becomes transparant.

Answer 3

Snow isn't technically white any more than rain is. Snow is crystalized rain drops/moisture. When compacted into a snow flake, light is trapped (much like a diamond traps light) and this gives the impression of snow being "white."

Answer 4

The white color is caused by uneven crystals of ice reflecting the sunlight across all spectrums of color.

As it melts, the reflection is reduced, and becomes far clearer. (Which is why Icicles are relatively clear).

Answer 5

The same place a candle flame goes when you
blow out the candle, nowhere. It just ceases to
exist.

Answer 6

Into lakes and rivers and streams. Also other elements of the environment. It's just water it's been frozen.

Answer 7

its ice that melts into water-which happens to b clear

Answer 8

it turns into a different state of matter, liquid, and white is not a characteristic of water

Answer 9

turns into mud and sludge and all that leftover grit on the side of the road.

Answer 10

It becomes part of the hydro-cycle again. (steam-clouds-precipitation)