The shape of snowflakes

The shape of snowflakes
Everyone loves watching snow fall on a winter day
as the snowflakes turn the landscape white.
Falling snow is a beautiful sight,
but the snowflakes themselves are miracles of beauty.
If we take a closer look at a snowflake,
we will see that it has a symmetrical, hexagonal shape.
But how do they take on this hexagonal shape?
The explanation lies in the structure of the water molecules
that make up the snowflakes.
A water molecule comprises two hydrogen atoms,
bonded to an oxygen atom
with a 104.45° bond angle between the two hydrogen atoms.
Since there is a charge difference inside the water molecule,
water molecules with opposite charges are attracted to one another.
When the water freezes,
these interconnected water molecules form a hexagonal crystalline structure.
This hexagonal ice crystal will be the nucleus of the snowflake.
As it is falling through the air,
it continues to grow as other water molecules attach to it,
while it retains its shape.
The shape of the snowflake that is forming
depends on environmental conditions:
temperature,
humidity,
air pressure
and wind.
In addition, as snowflakes are continuously drifting,
these environmental conditions change from place to place
and shape the snowflakes accordingly.
This is why practically no two snowflakes are identical.
This was also confirmed by the American Wilson Bentley,
who photographed more than 5,000 snowflakes from 1885 until his death.
He catalogued them according to their shape
and found no two snowflakes that looked the same.