The classic image of a symmetrical, six-sided snowflake is everywhere at this time of the year. But that's not what you'll see falling from the sky
WHEN Bing Crosby dreamed of a white Christmas, chances are he imagined one fashioned by flurries of perfect, six-sided snowflakes. This image of what a snowflake looks like has become ubiquitous. It is found on everything from cards and woolly jumpers to shop windows during the festive season. So you may be surprised to discover that the vast majority of snowflakes look nothing like this.
The classic image of a snowflake can be traced back to home-schooled farmer Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley of Vermont. When he was 15, he started peering down his mother's microscope. "Always, from the very beginning, it was snowflakes that fascinated me most," he later said. Bentley eventually persuaded his parents to get a camera and hooked it up to ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.
