Why are snowflakes mostly geometric and symmetrical in shape?

Question

I would think they would have more random, organic shapes. Below is a link to some pretty interesting close-up pictures.

http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=505&gid=35&index=0

Answer 1

They are geometric and symmetrical because they are a crystalline form of H20. Water crystallizes in what we geologists call the hexagonal crystal system. Crystals in that system tend to be 6-sided because they have a vertical axis and three horizontal axes that are all at right angles to the vertical one. These three axes are separated from each other by 60 degrees.

The form of a snow crystal depends on the temperatures it encounters during it's fall to the earth. There are needles, columns, capped columns, and the traditional 6-sided flake we see in photos. Probably there are others.

There are many popular books about rocks, minerals and crystals. If you can find the relevant Peterson's Field Guide (in this case either the one for climate and weather or the one for rocks and minerals) you can learn much more.

Answer 2

It has to do with the physics of crystalline structures. All substances, as they move from a liquid to a solid state, do so by changing to a crystalline structure. That includes metals. But in most cases, we can't see the crystals with the unaided eye. Snowflakes are formed from very small, individual drops of water, which means that if we look closely, we can see that structure.

Answer 3

Cool pics...one couldn't even imagine what those fluffy things falling were if you didn't look.
But looking at them...and I'm guessing...I'd have to say the water melts into the shape and freezes and thats how we get the different shapes.
I kinda compared the ice crystals with the shapes of ice that clings to objects after an ice storm....diffferent shapes and designs.

Answer 4

No snowflake falls in an inappropriate place.

Answer 5

actually everything is a mathematical design cause God created all.