Physicist Ken Libbrecht has done something pretty incredible – he’s found a way to create snowflakes in his lab. Using a microscope, Libbrecht was able to take macro photographs of his snowflakes that reveal the intricate beauty of the tiny ice crystals. Each snowflake resembles a six-sided flower and is symmetrical (each half mirrors the other half exactly).
In this video, Libbrecht used a video camera to catch the snowflakes forming in slow motion. Each flake forms around a tiny particle of dust, growing outwards and taking on lacy, intricate shapes that are absolutely captivating.
It’s easy to forget sometimes that in the snowdrifts and banks of ice flakes are millions of unique, beautiful snowflakes like these, and it’s even easier to overlook the fact that at the heart of each of these beautiful ice flowers is a tiny piece of dirt.
Ken Libbrecht has become known as the snowflake guru. You can learn more about him on Wikipedia.
