Snowflakes Studied and Identified
Professor Kenneth Libbrecht has been studying snowflakes for the past 17 years. He studies snowflakes to better understand structure formation and self-assembly. Scientists say the study of snowflakes in the pursuit of understanding basic science.
We have always heard every snowflake is different and science has identified 35 different types of snowflake. The Professor uses a machine called the SnowMaster 9000 and catches snowflakes and photographs them before they melt. Libbrecht illuminates the flakes with colored light under the microscope to identify them.
He has had to endure cold temperatures while working outside since snow falls in colder areas like Alaska, Northern Ontario, New England, the Michigan Upper Peninsula and the Sierra Mountains in California. He wants to figure out the physics of snowflakes to better understand how molecules jostle into place to form a crystal.
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