Search for:. Search Articles. Search Store. Post Tags cars frost frozen windsceen science Tasmania windscreens winter. Image credit: Natalie Eiser. Related Video. Image credits: Natalie Eiser. Up close, the crystal surface is rough with lots of dangling chemical bonds.
Water vapor molecules latch on to these rough surfaces and crystals can grow quickly. The structure of the elaborate branching depends on both the temperature and humidity of the air, as well as how smooth and clean the glass is. When the air is dry, the water molecules condense slowly out of the air and cluster together in stable hexagons. These patterns are the result of changes in the surface of the glass; tiny scratches, specks of dust or a faint smear of liquid soap can all affect the way that the crystals form and interlink.
Sam has worked as a forensic scientist as well as for the British government, and has degrees in both archaeology and osteoarchaeology. She has 2 children, is passionate about science, reading, history and music, and loves dyeing her hair bright colours! View all articles by Sam. Your email address will not be published. Frost is to dew as snowflakes are to raindrops. The pictures at left are of more hoarfrost crystals I found in northern Ontario near James Bay.
The first picture shows a twig of grass that is covered with ice crystal "leaves". The second picture shows a closer view of a small stalk with some very long dendritic crystals. One of the best places to find hoarfrost is on exposed plants near unfrozen lakes and streams.
It's a nice thing to look for if you're out hiking in the woods on a winter morning. I found lots more hoarfrost crystals to photograph in northern Japan. Grow Your Own Frost. You can make your own hoarfrost crystals if you have a cold, wind-free location -- for example, an unheated outdoor shed. Just plug in a hotplate and heat an open pan of water over a low heat for a day or two. You'll want to heat the water without heating the whole shed, so it helps if it's good and cold outside.
You may want to provide a branch or some other artistic surface above the pan for water vapor to condense onto. How the crystals grow will depend on the air temperature see the Snowflake Primer , so you may find different types of hoarfrost crystals on different days.
If you see something interesting when you try this, take some pictures see Photographing Snow for useful techniques and send me an e-mail. Surface Hoar. The most common form of hoarfrost is called surface hoar. This consists of ice crystals that form on top of snow banks, usually overnight. The sparkles you see coming from a field of snow are often reflections off the facets of surface hoar crystals.
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