For those of you working to the bitter end of this holiday season, why not take 5 minutes to relax and watch some of these amazing time lapse videos of the growth of snowflakes.

Whilst here in the UK we may not really have the weather for snow at the moment except on the higher hills, snowflakes are part of Christmas.

Snowflakes form as water vapor changes phase straight from gas to solid skipping the liquid phase. The solid ice crystals will form around a nucleation point – typically a small particle in the air or on a surface.

Just like a droplet of water forming during condensation more water vapour collects on the embryonic crystal allowing it to slowly grow, slow is the key to allow the crystal shape to develop the intricate designs and shapes. Ice lattice physicals typically dictate that a snowflake will have a hexagonal structure at its core. The common stella dendrite snowflake has is recognised for its beautiful 6 branched form. This is created simply through random crystalisation from the original hexagonal core. Each individual arm grows independently but each arm is exposed to the same environmental conditions resulting snowflakes which can appear to have incredible symmetry.

So enjoy a few minutes relaxing watching these mesmerizing videos!

Finally may we wish you well for the holiday season and peace and prosperity for 2016

Jeremy Wingate
Rotronic UK