50 Times People Got So Satisfied Looking At Snow, They Just had To Document It

Checking out all these gorgeous pics, I remembered a cool saying I have been hearing my whole life: no two snow crystals are alike. I have to admit, I never looked it up. Probably because that sounded so cool, I didn't want to find out whether it was true or not. However, it's time we put this question to rest. 

Turns out, the scientific consensus states that the likelihood of two large snow crystals being identical is zero. The probability that two snow crystals (a single ice crystal) or flakes (a snow crystal or multiple snow crystals stuck together) will be exactly alike in molecular structure and in appearance, is very, very minute.

Each winter, about 1 septillion (1, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 or a trillion trillion) snow crystals drop from the sky. To go through all of them would be quite an exhausting task. So, people rely on cloud physicists, crystallographers, and meteorologists to explain why there are no two snow crystals alike.

First, we need to keep in mind that not all water molecules are exactly alike. According to this paper in The Library Of Congress, "Water molecules have two hydrogen molecules with one 16O atom. However, not all water molecules will have this arrangement. Some water molecules will have an atom of deuterium in place of one of the hydrogen atoms and some water molecules will have an atom of 18O. Since the molecular makeup of snow crystals varies greatly from one to another, it follows that each snow crystal will be slightly different."

Also, the unique and complex features of snow crystals are very much affected by unstable atmospheric conditions. Snow crystals are sensitive to temperature and will change in shape and design as they fall to the ground and are exposed to weather fluctuations. To have two snow crystals or flakes that went through exactly the same history of development is virtually impossible.

How cool is that? Finally, I can sleep in peace.