Its just crystalized water so I would think the crystals would take on the same shape almost every time but they say they are all different. Is that true?
2006-12-24 11:10:51 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
There can be snowflakes that are the same. The formation of a snowflake involves several random processes which happen over an over again. Since there are several processes, and they each occur several times, the number of possibilities are huge. So, the odds of two or more snowflakes being the same design is very small, nevertheless, there can be the same snowflake every thousand years.
Merry Christmas!
2006-12-25 01:46:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. This is due to the intricacy of the snow flake growth. It is all ice crystal, yes, but it is not a solid chunk, it has a nearly fractal complexity into it, and the minute subtle changes make the possible variations of branching so huge, there is no chance that two will ever be alike
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2006-12-24 11:18:15 · answer #2 · answered by Vincent G 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they're all unique, because of humidity, temperature etc. If you google "snowflake", there's a few good websites that have photos of different types of snow crystals.
However, they all have six sides. For a great explanation of that, look at Johannes Kepler's "Why the Snowflake is Six-sided". It's fairly short.
2006-12-24 11:21:28 · answer #3 · answered by Joya 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a lot of human beings have taken random samplings of snowflakes fro diverse areas, and located that no 2 have ever been precisely the same. Many are particularly comparable, however the prospect of two having the suitable comparable shape is like 10*.21^-422 or something like that. even regardless of the indisputable fact that that's a *particularly* small risk.
2016-12-15 07:30:40 · answer #4 · answered by lesniewski 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, every snow flake is a different shape.
2006-12-24 11:17:13 · answer #5 · answered by claudia V 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unless every snowflake can be seen or looked at, there is no way to know if they are all different. Good question though. It is a lot like saying there must be intelligent extraterrestrials out there, but until one knocks on my door . . . .
2006-12-24 11:20:44 · answer #6 · answered by commonsense 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard that was a myth. 1. it is improbable that any one will ever be able to prove that. you would have to collect every snow flake. 2. I believe I heard that one dispelled on some tv show about theories and myths. might be mythbusters, not sure.
2006-12-24 11:20:04 · answer #7 · answered by melissa m 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's been said that that's so, however, some of them melt so fast that it's hard to take the photos quick enough so they can be compared! Some melt so fast that nobody ever had the opportunity to take pictures of them. Sooooo, it really can't be proven 100%.
2006-12-24 15:27:05 · answer #8 · answered by OhWhatCanIDo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So they say. I guess the people that did the research had a lot of time on their hands.
2006-12-24 11:20:06 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, cryastlization that small is different every time.
2006-12-24 15:08:48 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋