OT: Snow Question

Sniper8052(L96A1) said:

Why is it that a snow flake is a flake rather than a pellet? What is
it that makes the water expand to form a flake rather than just
freezing to be an ice drop?

IIRC, all preciptiation starts as snow; it only forms droplets if lower
level temps are high enough. But best to ask at uk.sci.weather :-)

Sniper8052(L96A1) said:

This will sound just a little daft but why is snow... well snow, and not
ice?
Why is it that a snow flake is a flake rather than a pellet? What is it
that makes the water expand to form a flake rather than just freezing to
be an ice drop?
We were pondering this last night and I suggested the smart bods on here
would know the answer.

Because if it were an ice pellet, it would reduce the variety of
"snow".
..
British Rail [1] would then lose their excuse.

[1] Yes, I know.

--
Jesus was apparently betrayed by 8.3% of his disciples.

"Simonb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Sniper8052(L96A1) said:

Why is it that a snow flake is a flake rather than a pellet? What is
it that makes the water expand to form a flake rather than just
freezing to be an ice drop?

IIRC, all preciptiation starts as snow; it only forms droplets if lower
level temps are high enough. But best to ask at uk.sci.weather :-)

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question302.htm

Sniper8052(L96A1) said:

This will sound just a little daft but why is snow... well snow, and

not

Quoted message said:

ice?
Why is it that a snow flake is a flake rather than a pellet? What is

it

Quoted message said:

that makes the water expand to form a flake rather than just freezing

to

Quoted message said:

be an ice drop?

I don't know, but it was definitely ice drops [ie hail] rather than
snow that pelted me hard in the face as I cycled to work this morning.
And very nasty it was too. (Since the trains were completely fouled up
and my journey was forcibly terminated at Bromley South rather than
Victoria, I decided to ride in the rest of the way - big mistake...)

d.

"Sniper8052(L96A1)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This will sound just a little daft but why is snow... well snow, and not
ice?
Why is it that a snow flake is a flake rather than a pellet? What is it
that makes the water expand to form a flake rather than just freezing to
be an ice drop?

I'd guess it's because it's not water expanding to form a flake, it's vapour
condensing/agglomerating/whatever to form a flake.

Now I'll await correction :-)

cheers,
clive

Sniper8052(L96A1) said:

This will sound just a little daft but why is snow... well snow, and not
ice?
Why is it that a snow flake is a flake rather than a pellet? What is it
that makes the water expand to form a flake rather than just freezing to
be an ice drop?
We were pondering this last night and I suggested the smart bods on here
would know the answer.

A bear of very little brain,

Sniper8052

It's something to do with the shape of the H2O molecule and the fact
that water can be super-cooled.

Ask the question on uk.sci.weather - they are all *very* turned on by
snow. They'll probably throw phrases like "Bergeron Process" and
"Accretion" around; if you're talking refrozen rain, they may even get
into "inversions".

They love talking about snow over there... 🙂

--
Chris

Sniper8052(L96A1) said:

This will sound just a little daft but why is snow... well
snow, and not ice?
Why is it that a snow flake is a flake rather than a pellet? What is it
that makes the water expand to form a flake rather
than just freezing to be an ice drop?
We were pondering this last night and I suggested the smart
bods on here would know the answer.

A bear of very little brain,

Sniper8052

Hydrogen bonding.
--
Mark

1x1 wheel, 3x2 wheels & 1x3 wheels.

Clive George said:

"Sniper8052(L96A1)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Why is it that a snow flake is a flake rather than a pellet?
What is it that makes the water expand to form a flake rather than
just freezing to be an ice drop?

I'd guess it's because it's not water expanding to form a flake, it's vapour
condensing/agglomerating/whatever to form a flake.

That would be my assumption too, coupled with teh observation that
bodies of liquid water as they freeze start to do so as angular
fingered crystals, just that the crystals expand to fill a solid
block.

As a real speculative guess, I'd go for snow falls straight down, but
hail circulates, the ice balls gathering a coat of liquid water that
subsequently freezes, then another coat deposits then it freezes as
they circulate up and down in teh cloaud mass. I've a recollection
that hailstones have a layered structure.

Hey! all this groundless speculation is nearly as much fun as a helmet
thread!

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Ian Smith said:

As a real speculative guess, I'd go for snow falls straight down, but
hail circulates, the ice balls gathering a coat of liquid water that
subsequently freezes, then another coat deposits then it freezes as
they circulate up and down in teh cloaud mass. I've a recollection
that hailstones have a layered structure.

Hey! all this groundless speculation is nearly as much fun as a helmet
thread!

Will a helmet protect me from hailstones?

--
Jesus was apparently betrayed by 8.3% of his disciples.

in message <[email hidden]>, Richard Bates

(') said:

Ian Smith said:

As a real speculative guess, I'd go for snow falls straight down, but
hail circulates, the ice balls gathering a coat of liquid water that
subsequently freezes, then another coat deposits then it freezes as
they circulate up and down in teh cloaud mass. I've a recollection
that hailstones have a layered structure.

Hey! all this groundless speculation is nearly as much fun as a helmet
thread!

Will a helmet protect me from hailstones?

That's why it has holes in. A helmet with no holes would give you some
protection in hailstorms, and thus would be Useful. In order to make
sure helmets are not just mostly useless but completely useless, they
add special hail-holes. These also work in rain, of course.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Ring of great evil
Small one casts it into flame
Bringing rise of Men ;; gonzoron

"Sniper8052(L96A1)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This will sound just a little daft but why is snow... well snow, and not
ice?
Why is it that a snow flake is a flake rather than a pellet? What is it
that makes the water expand to form a flake rather than just freezing to
be an ice drop?
We were pondering this last night and I suggested the smart bods on here
would know the answer.

A bear of very little brain,

Sniper8052

Akshewallee, there's a lot more to snow than a mere flake...

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/class/class.htm

Hollow columns are I suppose the nearest to a pellet.

Cheers, helen s

"the.Mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hydrogen bonding.
--
Mark

Amazing thing, hydrogen bonding. We wouldn't be here without it.

Cheers, helen s

Quoted message said:

"Sniper8052(L96A1)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

<Snip.>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A bear of very little brain,

Sniper8052

Thanks for your answers I have enjoyed the links and education.

I have forwarded to UK.Sci... For their technical view

The view from my side was,
1) It stopped my motorbike 20 miles from home 🙁
2) I have a nice new dent, Meh <shrugs>
3) I did a great 180* skid/slide 🙂 entertaining
4) It's blooming cold. Brrrr

Sniper8052