Toc: Contents
Preface v
1. There are Many Different Types of Snow 1
2. Early Snow Crystal Observations 3
3. Artificial Snow Crystals 11
“Snow crystals” with seven and eight arms 17
Can you find two identical snow crystals? 17
Von Koch’s snowflake 17
Ice patterns on windows 18
Twins, snowflakes and hail 18
Aging of snow 19
Formation of rain 19
Snow cannons 19
4. Snow and Ice Crystals in Nature 23
Thin film interference in ice crystals 27
5. Snow for Pleasure and Art 29
6. The Ice Surface and Formation of Ice Spikes 41
Ice spikes 41
The ice surface 43
Icebergs 43
Effect of ice melting on the sea level 43
Ice as aircraft carrier and project Habakkuk 44
7. Structure and Physical and Chemical Properties of Water and Ice 47
The water molecule 47
The structure of ordinary, hexagonal ice, Ih 48
The structure of other forms of ice 51
viii Wonders of Water
8. Physical Properties of Water and Ice; Significance in Nature 53
Surface properties of ice and snow 55
The structure of liquid water 56
Models for the water structure 57
Water, a solvent with many interesting properties 59
Why is water blue? 60
9. Electron Microscopic Studies of Snow Crystals 63
Low temperature scanning electron microscopy 63
A panorama of snow crystals 64
Metamorphosis of snow crystals 64
Firn and depth hoar crystals 67
Surface hoar, rime, glaze, graupel and hail 68
Martian snow 69
10. Ice in Lakes and Glaciers 71
Basal plane of hexagonal ice 71
Glacier ice 72<