We, the people of the Northern Hemisphere, are currently in the midst of the dead of winter, and across the world, winter is frequently associated with snow.
Approximately 74% of the United States experiences snow coverage each winter; whether you admire or detest it, snow is a common and significant part of the human perception of winter, however, this ubiquity does not liberate this wintery substance from the universal inclination to regard an object by its superficial appearance rather than a more comprehensive image of its astoundingly intricate structure.
The Flaky Vista
We observe snow gliding down from the clouds and landing softly, covering the world in a blanket of white. We encounter snow while on the road as it collides with our windshields in a whispery rustle and is cast aside. We combat the accumulation of snow by shoveling our driveways, yet we regularly fail to consider this material by its true nature, which is a collection of individual, uniquely designed ice crystals, in other words, snowflakes.
Along with the freezing temperatures and the howling wind, winter brings skies that disperse sheets teeming with innumerable snowflakes. With each step you take in the snow, you are treading on thousands of snowflakes. Driving on a road covered with as little as an eighth inch of snow results in the crushing of 1 billion snowflakes per mile. If my estimations are accurate, the entire United States could hypothetically contain up to 600 quintillion (600,000,000,000,000,000,000) snowflakes at one point in time, which is nearly 2 trillion times larger than the current US population.
Every snowflake comprises an amazing, symmetrical pattern of ice that initially forms when a water droplet freezes onto a particle of dust or pollen in the sky, which then descends while water vapor freezes onto and expands the crystal. The temperature and humidity of the air lay the foundation for the design into which the crystal will grow, and the varying, atmospheric conditions that the snowflake experiences cause slight differences, making each flake unlike any other. Even the countless snowflakes that we discard, trample, and destroy are completely unique.
As I leave you with this brisk concept, I wish you a happy and fruitful, new year! This is the conclusion of my blog… for this year; I will see you in 2023.
What is your favorite part of winter?
Onward American 