(Image: Kenneth G Libbrecht)
HOW does a snowflake form? A new generation of ice cloud chambers is set to give us the first detailed insightinto this delicate process and could even help weather forecasters better predict when snow is likely to fall.
Next year, Paul Connolly from the University of Manchester, UK, will study ice crystal aggregation in the Manchester Ice Cloud Chamber. This giant three-storey stainless steel cylinder can be cooled to temperatures as low as -50 °C to simulate the conditions that produce snow. Ice crystals form when a burst of compressed air enters the tank. The…
