Are No Two Snowflakes Ever Alike?

The question presented is whether no two snowflakes are alike. This was stemmed from Wilson Bentley’s (the Snowflake Man) research of snowflakes. Bentley became the first person to photograph snowflakes in 1885. His lifetime findings of well over 5,000 photographs demonstrated that no two snowflakes were alike. Bentley pronounced, "Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind." His findings and pioneering studies caused future, inquisitive scientists, meteorologists, physicists, and photomicrographers to question his research. Snow crystals develop from the condensation of water vapor into ice that occurs in clouds. As snow crystals grow in the clouds, they begin to change from basic hexagonal prisms into complex, elaborate, symmetrical snowflakes. No two snowflakes are alike is a controversial topic confounding many snowflake observers today. There are multiple perspectives to this questionable topic. One argument (agreeing with Bentley) is that no two snowflakes are alike and each one must have at least something different in comparison to another. Each one is special and unique in its own way and is different from any other. The opposing argument is that there are some snowflakes that may be the same because there is absolutely no way to test the innumerable snowflakes that have fallen on the earth since the beginning of time (1024 snowflakes fall in the world every year). These conflicting arguments have caused people to ask themselves whether or not two snowflakes are ever alike.
Science calls the researcher to believe that whether or not two snowflakes ever look alike depends on the size of the snowflake and what the perspective of “alike” the researcher sides with. Snow crystals develop from the condensation of water vapor into ice that occurs in clouds. As snow crystals grow in the clouds, they begin to change from basic hexagonal prisms into complex, elaborate, symmetrical snowflakes. Simple snow crystals are usually basic hexagonal prisms that look fairly similar, but as they grow, develop many unique characteristics of their own. If the researcher believes ‘alike’ is just two snowflakes look similar to the human eye, then, it is probable that two small snow crystals would look ‘alike.’ If the researcher believes ‘alike’ is every detailed characteristic of the snow crystal is identical, then, it is highly doubtful that two ‘alike’ snowflakes would ever be discovered.
Are no two snowflakes alike? It is determined yes and no as answers to the popular question. Small snow crystals that have just begun to take form could be discovered alike due to the simplicity of the basic hexagonal prism shape; however, it would be nearly impossible to detect or observe these snowflakes because they are so high up in the sky, and would have to be looked at in a small window of time. Also, in all of the history before, it is highly doubtful that no two snowflakes were ever alike, but it is close to impossible to ever observe two of these snowflakes, so many conclude that no two snowflakes are ever going to be found alike. Overall, by the time snowflakes reach the Earth’s surface and are tested, it is highly doubtful that one feature of that tested snowflake is dissimilar in comparison to another. In other words, it is greatly improbable that two snowflakes are ever exactly alike, molecule for molecule, characteristic for characteristic. Therefore, it is concluded that the myth no two snowflakes are alike is actually fact. The credible websites used to decide on this conclusion and assist in the background research of the topic include:

• Helmenstine, Anne Marie. "Snowflake Chemistry." Chemistry.About.com. About, INC,
  9 Nov. 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2010. .
  
• Web link Jericho Historical Society. "Wilson A. Bentley." SnowflakeBentley.com. Jericho
  Historical Society, 2 Aug. 2008. Web. 14 Jan. 2010. .
  
• Web link Libbrecht, Kenneth G. "Is it really true that no two snowflakes are alike?"
  SnowCrystals.com. Ed. Kenneth G Libbrecht. Caltech, 1 May 2008. Web.
  14 Jan. 2010. .
  
• Web link Library of Congress. "Is it true that no two snow crystals are alike?" Loc.gov. Library of Congress, 4 Aug. 2008. Web. 14 Jan. 2010.
  
• Web link Roach, John. "'No Two Snowflakes the Same' Likely True, Research Reveals."
  NationalGeographic.com. National Geographic Society, 13 Feb. 2007.
  Web. 14 Jan. 2010.
  

Here is a list of hyperlinks to various sites that have interesting information on the topic:

• http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/alike/alike.htm
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070213-snowflake_2.html
• http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/snowcrystals.html
• http://snowflakebentley.com/ and http://snowflakebentley.com/vid.htm
• http://chemistry.about.com/od/moleculescompounds/a/snowflake.htm

Check out this cool video on snowflake growth in cold temperatures:

• http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/movies/movie3a.gif