what makes snowflakes symetrical?
924645
The molecular structure defines the identical angles of the snowflake, and the fact that all parts usually form simultaneously in a cloud with nothing restricting the crystal's growth makes it likely that all pieces form at the same rate and are nearly identical in size -- so the flakes are usually symmetrical.
65550
Snow forms when there is cold air (below freezing) and percipitation falls.  Snow is made out of ice crystals.  Sleet occurs when rain falls from warm air (above freezing) and passes through cold air (below freezing) on the way down, and freezes into ice pellets. (Note: If the air is warm (above freezing) and the objects on the ground are cold, the rain falls, then freezes onto the objects on the ground.  This is called freezing rain.)
388204
Use "Proof by contradiction".\n\nWilson Bentley photographed (through a compound microscope) more than 5000 of this crystal in his lifetime, and he had proved that no two snowflakes are alike. He was also the one who originated that concept.\n\nWell, you could easily disproved this by showing an identical snowflake.
21574
It depends on the structure of the structure of the snow particles, whether the snow is wet or dry (that is on air and ground temperature). It can be 4:1 or 8:1, and anything in between. Again, these are approximate values.
1117871
Yes.\nSince a typical small snow crystal might contain 1018 water molecules, we see that about 1015 of these molecules will be different from the rest.  These unusual molecules will be randomly scattered throughout the snow crystal, giving it a unique design.  The probability that two snow crystals would have exactly the same layout of these molecules is very, very, very small.  Even with 1024 crystals per year, the odds of it happening within the lifetime of the Universe is indistinguishable from zero.
974284
I certainly hope you have visited the link below for visual and mathematical insights into this problem.\n\nHowever, the only materials that come to mind which lend themselves to a physical model of this transformation are:\n\n o thin-but-rigid springs or "lead" wire(s) as supports/frames\n o plastic wrap as a surface substrate\n o flexible, rubberized, quick-drying paint as a protective layer\n\nI regret that my imagination is limited with respect to this problem, but good luck with your project!
904698
It is the very complicated surface of the snowflakes.  Ice and water may be clear, but some light is reflected, and some gets transmitted.  In the case of snow flakes, which are ice cristals, there is so much surface to reflect off, and light transmitted leaving off the back will strike the next snowflake behind (or the next bit of the same snowflake, deeper in) and eventually reflect back.  Since the shape is so weird, no coherent reflection can be seen, hence no good mirrored surface.  But the light will come back looking the same color as going in, hence white.
163899
essentially it is the same reason the sky is blue - rayleigh scattering inside the ice itself.  see the page below for details:\nhttp://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF7/773.html
708599
http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/c120/dotstruc.html
961074
snow isn't really white its just the amount of light that is bounced back so when it melt it changes states of matter and becomes a liquid which bounces back light differently
848041
There are nearly an infinite number of possible shapes, all based on a six sided crystal.\n\nIt is NOT necessarily true that no two are alike.  No one can say for certain since there is no way to study a nearly infinite number of snowflakes to make a comparison.\n\nBut consider this possibility, that there are two snowflakes with the EXACT same pattern and layout.  One is an inch in diameter, and the other is 3/4 inch.  We can say that thes are not alike since they are of different sizes.  We can assume that it is possible that the exact same pattern may appear in another flake that is one inch in diameter, and another that is 1/4 inch, and any size in between those I've mentioned.  \n\nWhat if two appeared that were the same size within a thousandth of an inch?  We can't say that the are exactly the same.  But what if two appeared, but the difference in size were too small to measure?  ARE they the same?\n\nEven if there were a LOT of money to spend on such a research project, the research could only go so far.  If the study were done in Colorado, for instance, there would be no way to know if a duplicate appeared outside of Moscow, or New York, or Lake Tahoe, or even right outside the researcher's door.\n\nJust because there are NEARLY infinite possibilies of patterns, the fact that nature limits the patterns to six sides means that there is a potential limit to the number of patterns.  And don't forget, nature is not TRYING to prevent duplication.  The same kinds of physical forces are in place in the making of EVERY single snowflake, all over the world.\n\nThere are nearly an infinite number of ways a human being can appear, but, for the most part, we all fall into the usual pattern of one head, two arms and two legs.  In between, there is a great variety in skin color, size, shape of head, hand, belly and bottom.\n\nSame for snowflakes
829392
just a piont of view, but normally to divide something symmetrically you have to do it at the widest piont along the centre line. where as assymetricaly is off the centre line at a narrower piont and therefore not a symmetry,this only applies to poloygons and symmetric shapes.  hope this helps
67967
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. \n\nSnow 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.
150720
"Ice that makes up glaciers originally fell on its surface as snow. To become ice, this snow underwent modifications that caused it to become more compact and dense. Glacial ice has a density of about 850 kilograms per cubic meter. The density of snow ranges from about 50 to 300 kilograms per cubic meter (the density of fresh water is approximately 1000 kilograms per cubic meter). After the snow falls, the crystals can be reduced by the effects of melting and sublimation. Scientists call this process ablation. For most glaciers, ablation is a phenomena dominant in the summer months. The snow also undergoes physical compaction through melting and refreezing. At first, these processes cause the original snowflakes to be transformed into small round crystals. This partly melted, compressed snow is called névé. Névé has a density exceeding 500 kilograms per cubic meter. If the névé survives the ablation that occurs during the summer months it is called firn. When this process happens year after year, a number of layers of firn can accumulate. Accumulation then causes a further increase in density, modifying the firn into glacier ice, as the lower layers of firn are compressed by the weight of the layers above. On average, the transformation of névé into glacial ice may take 25 to 100 years."
22280
Water and ice are transparent and light passes through without any portions of the visible spectrum being absorbed or reflected. On the other hand, most of the visible (white) light striking a snowy surface is reflected back by the countless tiny surfaces of the snow crystals giving snow its white appearance.\n\nOne can think of the ice or snow layer as a filter. If it is only about a centimeter thick, all the light makes it through and it is seen as white, but if it is a meter or more thick, mostly blue light makes it through. More red light is absorbed compared to blue. Not much more, but enough that over a considerable distance, say a meter or more, the light emerging from the snow layer tends to be made up of more blue than red light. Poking a hole in the snow and looking down into the hole you can see blue light or the blue color associated with the depths of crevasses in glaciers. In each case the blue light is the product of a relatively long travel path through the snow or ice.
1152488
boundaries between crystal grains are less well defined than the actual crystals, and have a different refractory index or optical density.\n\nIn anisotropic crystals, the refractory index or the surface structure of a transparent cut also depends on the orientation of the crystal.
849273
is symmetric if the figures are the same!