Snow Crystals - by Kenneth G Libbrecht (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Despite substantial, cross-disciplinary interest in the subject as a scientific case study, surprisingly little has been written on the science of snowflakes and their formation. For materials scientists, snowflakes constitute archetypal examples of crystal growth; for chemists, the site of complex molecular dynamics at the ice surface. Physicists can learn from snowflake symmetry and self-assembly; geologists study snow as mineral crystals; and biologists can even gain insight into the creation of shape and order in organisms. In the humble snowflake are condensed many of the processes-many of them still not fully understood-that govern the organization of classical systems at all levels of the natural world. This book by Kenneth Libbrecht-inarguably the world's foremost expert on the subject-will be the authoritative text on the science of snow crystals. It will cover all of the physical processes that govern the life of a snowflake, including how snowflakes grow and why they have the shapes they do. It will also outline techniques for creating and experimenting with snow crystals, both with computer models and in the lab. Featuring hundreds of color illustrations, the book will be comprehensive and is sure to become definitive resource for researchers for years, if not decades, to come"--

Book Synopsis

A definitive new investigation of the science of snowflakes by the world's leading expert

A snowflake's sophisticated symmetry emerges when crystalline ice grows from water vapor within the winter clouds. While certain iconic snowflake shapes are visually familiar to us, microscopic close-ups of falling snow reveal a rich menagerie of lesser-known forms, including slender needle clusters, hollow columns, bullet rosettes, triangular crystals, and exotic capped columns. What explains the myriad and unusual structures of snowflakes that materialize under different atmospheric conditions? In Snow Crystals, Kenneth Libbrecht delves into the science of snowflakes, examining why ice crystals grow the way they do, how patterns emerge, and what they illuminate about the fundamental physics of crystal growth, structure formation, and self-assembly.

Libbrecht--the world's foremost expert on snowflakes--describes the full range of physical processes underlying their occurrence. He explores such topics as the centuries-long development of snow crystal science, the crystalline structure of ice, molecular dynamics at the ice surface, diffusion-limited growth, surface attachment kinetics, computational models of snow crystal growth, laboratory techniques for creating and studying snow crystals, different types of natural snowflakes, and photographing snow crystals. Throughout, Libbrecht's extensive detailed discussions are accompanied by hundreds of beautiful full-color images.

From the molecular dynamics of surface premelting to the aerodynamics of falling snow, Snow Crystals chronicles the continuing quest to fully understand this fascinating phenomenon.

About the Author

Kenneth G. Libbrecht is professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology. His many books include The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty.