SNOWFLAKES ,1894 Antique Wood Engraving

Historical Collectible Meteorlogical Art Print

A snowflake always has six symmetric arms (along three symmetric axes), which arises from the hexagonal crystal structure of ordinary ice (known as ice Ih) along its 'basal' plane. There are, broadly, two possible explanations for the symmetry of snowflakes. Firstly, there could be communication or information transfer between the arms, such that growth in each arm affects the growth in each other arm. Surface tension or phonons are among the ways that such communication could occur. The other explanation, which appears to be the prevalent view, is that the arms of a snowflake grow independently in an environment that is believed to be rapidly varying in temperature, humidity and other atmospheric conditions. This environment is believed to be relatively spatially homogeneous on the scale of a single flake, leading to the arms growing to a high level of visual similarity by responding in identical ways to identical conditions, much in the same way that unrelated trees respond to environmental changes by growing near-identical sets of tree rings. The difference in the environment in scales larger than a snowflake leads to the observed lack of correlation between the shapes of different snowflakes.

Approximate Overall Size: 6 X 9 1/2 inches

CONDITION: Book Plate - Excellent Condition. As Scanned. German Text. Beautiful with excellent detail. SINGLE PAGE PRINT BLANK ON THE BACK