[extropy-chat] symmetrical snow

[spike]

> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Damien Broderick
> Sent: Monday, December 05, 2005 8:48 PM
> To: ExI chat list
> Subject: [extropy-chat] symmetrical snow
> 
> At 08:23 PM 12/5/2005 -0800, spike wrote:
> 
> 
> >  But why is it that
> >snowflakes seem to have this pi/3 symmetry?
> 
> but seriously: spontaneous broken symmetry, of course:
> 


http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_question.cfm?articleID=00025ADD-C9A7-1C71-
9EB7809EC588F2D7



hmmmm, I like Howard Evans' answer but Miriam Rossi's answer
seems to pretend to know without actually telling.  The tile
analogy kinda works for why a branch looks the way it does,
but it somehow lacks in why the edges stop growing all at
about the same place.  If we could get small enough to see
individual H20, what would be different about those out on
the edges of each ice crystal?

I tried to fix the link before, but still it didn't go
thru right.  Try this:

<http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/s
nowcrystals/class/013002-a007.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atom
ic/snowcrystals/class/class.htm&h=570&w=694&sz=38&tbnid=5lDaJyb--MUJ:&tbnh=1
12&tbnw=136&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsnowflakes%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D&oi=imagesr&start
=3>

and if that doesn't work, google on snowflake and hit the
image on the top right, then in SnowCrystals.com hit photo
collections, or google on snowcrystals.com and go to

http://radar.sci.hokudai.ac.jp/crystal/gallery.html


spike