The science of snowflakes - Maruša Bradač

View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/the-science...
One could say that snowflakes are simply frozen water - but if you compare a snowflake to an ice cube, you’ll notice a big difference. Why are all snowflakes six-sided? Why are none of them exactly the same? And how do we ski on them? Maruša Bradač sheds light on the secret life of snowflakes.
Lesson by Maruša Bradač, animation by bottomless well films.

[@Dayz3O6]

the narrator explanation is so calm yet so full of knowledge.

[@toreshi]

Isn't anyone going to comment on the beautiful artwork?!

[@ShyanTheLegend]

His voice is soothing as hell

[@ebatatas]

Yes

[@toreshi]

+Bruni I agree! But this one in particular 😍

[@tb4814]

It's beautiful and so real

[@tb4814]

It's beautiful and so real

[@marcorodvas]

**cries because i've never seen the snow** :(

[@thamestrinity]

+nachscratch you are not alone :(

[@vy9272]

Where do you live?

[@marcorodvas]

Gold Logic Venezuela. though we have a mountain called Pico Bolivar on the Andes western side of the country that has snow and you get there on a cable car... it is the highest/2nd-longest cable car in the world and the highest mountain of Venezuela. i may go there next summer when it's snowing and the cable car gets re-opened because it has been rebuilt since 2008...

[@vy9272]

nachscratch Man, I live in Greece... I have seen snow even at the beginning of my life. I live on meadows, not on any place with high altitude and I frequently experience snow every 2 or 1 years where it snows 1-2 times. During early 2000s it snowed a HELLA LOT here in Larisa, so the snow was over 2 meters tall. We are living in Thessalian plain where it used to have 35 degrees Celsius during summertime. How it's possible for you to not experience snow? We are as Mediterranea as it gets here. Maybe it has to do living close to Mt. Olympus and Pimdus mountain range but then again I do not it's so close or an excuse. After all we are close to sea too.

[@marcorodvas]

Gold Logic Venezuela is close to the equator so we get direct sunlight year-round even on december-january when the minimum temperatures are around 20C at night. That's why we only have snow in Pico Bolivar because it's around 5000 meters high. So yeah... that's why my canadian uncle lives here because he really hates the snow and long winters in Alberta. lol

[@mbanana23456]

they're crystalline, they have a definite pattern so you sure as hell can find two snowflakes exactly alike

[@CarterMillergamer]

+mbanana23456 It's the difference between "can" and "will". Because small variances in temperature and humidity can change the shape a lot, it is almost impossible to find two exactly alike. However, it is theoretically possible to find two exactly alike.

[@mbanana23456]

Carter Miller i'd be surprised if we haven't aleady, in one clump of snow there's thousands if not millions of snow flakes, if you carefully examined each one you could find two that look very similar or even exactly alike, but it would take an insane amount of time

[@CarterMillergamer]

That is what I (and the video) said!

[@mbanana23456]

Carter Miller actually the video said you won't find any two snow flakes exactly alike, which is simply not true

[@vitocorleone3764]

+mbanana23456 btw a scientist in Finland did find two identical snowflakes. He found them by accident :)

[@cooldude56g]

Actually, in 1988, two identical snowflakes were in fact found in a Wisconsin snowstorm. Finding twins is still incredibly unlikely though.

[@arjun6358]

It was not exact but still very close

[@lucaspascal35]

Excellent video and beautifully explained. Usually I get distracted halfway of these kind of videos, but I was completely hooked on this one thanks to simplicity and well designed line of thought. Grats :)

[@TickedOffPriest]

All skiing is water skiing.

[@TheDxbrown]

So I guess I love water boarding. **DARK**

[@andricstefan8633]

If we put skis on sand and slide is that water ski-ing

[@Angel_Billy4-30-23]

Hahaha damn, you're right. I never really thought about it but yeah, it's true.

[@wunderkind7762]

yay! a new Ted ed. It was super interesting. This was awesome.

[@highspacefox]

+The Rain-Bow i feel so much sexier after watching a ted-ed video

[@zarifsafwanhoque4127]

+highspacefox seriously

[@JosephM]

+highspacefox I agree

[@wunderkind7762]

+highspacefox I myself do not feel "sexy" but I feel smarter. :D

[@WonderfulAkari]

Pro-Tip hold your breath when you look at snow-flakes. I didn't realize that snowflakes were 6-pointed in real life because as a kid I had bad eye-sight (Before I got glasses) so in order to look at them I had to move close and my breath would melt them before my eyes focused.

[@nachoboy736]

Watching this and realizing that you live in a tropical country

[@Interpause]

The chance for similar snowflakes, taking into account all the factors like temp, humidity, wind, wind direction, temp and humidity differences across small areas, bumping into others and a lot more, it is kinda really really small.

[@joshiifruit5554]

It's amazing to know that each snowflake is unique. To top this all off, science couldn't even explain why this is so. Nature is truly brilliant. Goes to show how much we still don't know.

[@SgtSupaman]

The only reason you are unlikely to find two exactly alike is simply due to the large amount of possibilities of snowflake shapes, the massive amount of snowflakes, and the short lifespan of all those snowflakes. It would be impossible to search through them all to find matches. However, there do exist snowflakes that are extremely similar to each other (which could be called "exactly alike", though that could depend on the scale). In fact, a scientist found two identical snowflakes in their samples, viewed by microscope, over 30 years ago.

[@FasterBueno]

Thank you

[@mohunraman7350]

the animation is beautiful

[@patrickoneill1993]

Very pretty artwork, thank you.

[@thenhewonders]

Beautiful animations

[@dave5194]

I love this video, explains the shape of hydrogen bonds and how they share elections very well. I'm going to forward this to my science teacher.

[@cuneytkaymak4997]

The Greatest Artist shows his art...

[@ShawnRavenfire]

I'm still not sure why the snowflakes are symmetrical. Why can't a snowflake form that's still six-sided, but with one branch forming differently than the other? And if it's due to atmospheric conditions, then why doesn't the snowflake immediately next to it form the same way?

[@IshverC]

+Shawn Ravenfire The path that they fall, how they tumble in the air, the availability of water vapour, the minutiae pressure differences/intermolecular (Van der Waals) forces acting on each molecule...Too many things affecting the shape so the snowflake next to it will be similar in shape but not exactly the same. As for symmetry is concerned, the branches are hundreds/thousands of water molecules across so the "way" in which the branches are formed has similar conditions for each branch. However this is not the case for different snowflakes. Each snowflake experiences different conditions!! Hope that helps bud :D

[@kp8129]

Because all the affecting conditions are exactly the same on all sides of the hexagon, if there were small change in one of the corners of the snowflake then there would be a variation, but this is imposible because the initial hexagon is so small that the temperature and all conditions required are exacly the same in the tiny space the initial hexagon takes to form. Its not that you could have a certain temperature and a difering temperature on such small distance from one corner of the hexagon to the next.

[@mdoerkse]

+Karlita 1 Wouldn't having just one molecule out of whack cause a cascading deviation for that branch as the crystal grows? Seems hard to imagine that snowflakes could be perfectly symmetrical down to the atomic level when they initially form. Is there then some mechanism to the crystal formation that allows it to "overlook" minor deviations and keep following a general pattern on all six arms? Hard for me to imagine.

[@mdoerkse]

After doing a bit of research I am beginning to think that "ideal" snowflakes really are symmetrical at an atomic level.

[@kp8129]

Snowflakes are symmetrical at the atomic level, look up something called fractals. and yeah variation in temperature and humidity are factors that affect each snowflake, but since snowflakes are so small fhe same exact conditions can affect the snowflake as a whole. Also another thing is that snowflakes are made only out of h2O molecules and such molecules each have a certain degree that contributes to the way all the h2O molecules are positioned.

[@Dantick09]

1:44 How do they measure that?

[@SofiLovatoJonas]

It was really good to learn something today, thank you!

[@anjumdiba7668]

What a beautiful scene!!!!!!

[@JoySuelto]

creative and very interesting as always ❤ i just want to ask how true are using anything blue or green, and even yellow papers will boost or improve studying? 😁

[@Haileye90]

It would be great if Ted-Ed could close caption these videos so deaf and HoH people could also enjoy them. Education should be available to all.

[@UltimateBreloom]

What is this snow you speak of? My Christmas will be a chilly 72 F this year...

[@peterchung2262]

72 F? hahahaha also please use Celsius

[@canalprageral3200]

Amazing i was looking for some vidros about snowflakes, because i saw it on a cartoon and i was wondering my self how it's works? Thanks

[@zsz5717]

Great work!

[@enriqueDFTL]

Amazing video!

[@reaganmin9704]

Can you guys create more videos related to Chemistry or Physics?

[@abraxamovic]

I feel that almost every video, is explained by the same person

[@MystalurDimensh]

Now it makes me wonder why it forms a flat structure, not a one in which its arms go in different Z axis.

[@lavliness]

Happy Holidays ♡

[@gurjitbariana2135]

Woohoo!!! Finally a new video!!

[@araxamasterimidias2522]

1:59 Is this why when you have a wet finger, and touch the surface of water, the water appears to cling onto the finger?

[@Andreimina123]

sadly this year I don't have any snow for Christmas :(

[@salem272010]

climate change?

[@Andreimina123]

+salem hjouj Most likely yes. I miss the days when it snowed a lot.

[@salem272010]

+Andrei Miha yeah me too :(

[@WonderfulAkari]

+Andrei Miha Stop being a baby and ... Let it go.

[@Andreimina123]

+WonderfulAkari I think I'll need Elsa to teach me how to "Let it go" then.

[@Sparkree]

If the negatively charged electrons repel why are the pairs so close together?

[@nhanvu8170]

I never get snow for Christmas. I live in Southern CA

[@jolenetan9605]

You can find to same snowflake if it is the humidity temperature and pressure and wind speed

[@TheCreaperHead]

* *Cries Epicly* *

[@jojoramos1056]

Holy crap! The temp. for this Christmas in PA is 68 degrees ferenheit!!!

[@FazalFariz]

I've never experienced snowing. -.- Wonder how it is..

[@davidbuschhorn6539]

That looks like good tauntaun weather.

[@carmennunez7072]

Very interesting!

[@hannahprice8040]

I don't think I've ever had snow on Christmas!

[@EdwardLCheeverII]

Hidden Mickeys... Hidden Mickeys everywhere...

[@M1rz4Man]

Maybe different shapes come from the fact that all snowflakes have different and random movement path which affects the shape?

[@monocat999]

3:25 that's why we have the so called "oinment" to make it easier to move

[@hannara566]

It’s over my head...😅 I sense that my friend feel like it is so difficult, if i tell her about what you said. But i happened to know that the reason snow can be gathered is because a water molecule! Just to prove how smart i am, i’m gonna teach the people around me how to be different with just water frozen!

[@cutiebunnyamber3447]

b

[@DukagjinMurtezani]

does anybody knows where i can find the text for this video, if there is one in the net.?

[@emilynguyen1916]

+Dukagjin “Duka” Murtezani Put subtitle on.

[@alexgagnon52]

That was amazing

[@GayRainbowPig]

While it's not possible for there to be two exactly identical snowflakes, it is possible to find some that on the macroscopic level look identical

[@mymomusesthisaccount]

TED-Ed, I had a dream about an uprising tsunami; during that, there were boats available for us to escape in. My brothers and I got into one but my mom didn't (I love my mom and she'd do anything for us). I woke up hurt and upset at my mom and afraid of tsunamis. What do my dreams mean?

[@noemikizem7246]

Beautiful

[@fjaajf]

So while I was watching, I picked up my phone and checked something, went back to the video..... I'M LOST

[@med_juggler]

A doubt...if electrons repel then wuy we have electron pairs, ,,, even they should repel ...plz explain,..

[@MH-ot8lr]

is there any repulsion between electrons pair? how can they stay close?

[@MH-ot8lr]

+izzona k i mean electrons in the pair.

[@brodiedye5980]

what's the difference between humidity and temperature? thanks

[@melunz8138]

Humidity is how much water vapor is in the air. It can be 100° in a dry desert, that's hot, but if it's 100° in a moist rainforest, that's hot and humid.

[@Puggalug]

Which has a greater degree of variance - snowflakes or fingerprints? I've heard many times that one may probably never see two snowflakes alike, in much the same way I heard no two fingerprints are the same. That's why I'm curious about the science behind which is more likely to happen: two snowflakes the same or two fingerprints the same?

[@dogedoge4547]

Likely fingerprints,from what I have heard, in some controlled lab experiments, scientists were able to create snowflakes that were near identical. Since youc an exactly "create" fingerprints in a controlled environment,there's like to be more variety in fingerprints than not.

[@oltionberberi]

The angles within a hexagon are 120°. Then why hexagons, if the angle in the water molecules is 104.5°?..

[@ahmedalsherbini276]

Amazing

[@AnyaSheven]

Fractals falling from the sky.... so romantic))))

[@savannah4439]

Why am I supposed to accept that the 2 pairs of electrons are repelling but for some reason are perfectly fine with pairing with each other? And moreover, how am I just supposed to casually ignore the fact that the *electrons* want to repel each other, but for some ungodly reason THE NUCLEUS IS PERFECTLY FINE BEING A BUNDLE OF PROTONS. Like, why? I understand that 'strong force' is a thing, but why? How is everyone just ok with not knowing all of the time?! Sorry, this has been bothering me for a long time.

[@SKGOStudios]

Powder skiing is the best

[@amrithvikram7959]

can you do videos of worm hole?

[@tueskaye3842]

thanks!

[@Razuri_Zeev]

Don't you think is just the nature love hexagon? If you think of it bee hive comb has hexagon form...

[@elfnimpf]

Aslan already has the answer for why two snow flakes aren't the same "things never happen the same way twice"

[@stenmgandersen]

but why are they 6-axis symmetrical?

[@Learningenglishcambodiaposts]

Great.

[@emons87]

I allways wandered why all the "arms" on a snowflake are symmetrical, but I didn't get an answer here. But I learned why they are hexagonal, though... Nice! :-D

[@bellegibson8721]

try this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIbSpWqOiL1rq6M

[@Tommykee999]

Mean while in Australia we got heat and rain yea

[@HummusPvm]

Why doesn't the snowflake grow in width? Just length? I mean if the hydrogen in the water molecule bonds to the negatively charged part of the other molecule, that means one hydrogen is together with the negative part and the other hydrogen is looking for a partner. So it should grow in a ball form, not just length. Why isn't that so?

[@fikretkomurcu7161]

could you make video that explaines what a sect\cult is? The definitions

[@khadija1707]

Goooòoooooooood job

[@user-lz1kb8pk2h]

Интересно, плюсую.

[@SmbatGevorgyan]

молодец

[@spintop285]

Its sad that I cant see snow, and I have never experience snow in my life. Why? Well I live in Florida!

[@markanthonyquiambao]

was I the only one who burst into a song the moment he said fractals?

[@Interpause]

also the reason for surface tension

[@xshinsanity]

in california we get smog rain

[@nadiaaaaa]

Que chido

[@jamesbartow3808]

good thing it won't snow this Christmas in Delaware!

[@jamesbartow3808]

(I actually really like snow...)

[@makaylak3372]

So this is just a hypothesis, but what if there could possibly be a pair of identical snowflakes im not saying that they could fall at the same time or in the same snowfall but what if there could be identical flakes set 100s of years apart. Is that even possible? Well think about it, there is only so many diverse patters until the cycle repeats. Like he said it all depends on the air pressure temp and so on, so if there is a case where 2 snowflakes fall at exact same temperatures and air pressure and at the exact same way, could it create an identical snowflake? Leave a comment below on your input!😊

[@venust.4119]

Cooool!

[@catherinecharles455]

I don’t get snow were we live.💔

[@nghiale1156]

Tinh thể bông tuyết thật đa dạng về hình dáng và thật đẹp

[@alfredasleung]

Sublamation!

[@morgantough]

why are the people with names had the same voice?!

[@MAIONNAISE]

0:14 why is this snowflake so big

[@joshuarodda]

Cool

[@hanniffydinn6019]

They are different because there are infinite realities. Each snowflake represents a different reality..

[@qinxue1]

wow nice man

[@ghadeerbadr7242]

This is ammmaazingg😭🌟🌨❄️ Who deny the existence of GREAT creator?

[@CuttingChai]

I've never felt snow :(

[@salem272010]

but actually we found two snow flakes exactly the same...

[@matekon2]

+salem hjouj That's probably because of the laws of large numbers. Also, maybe, the difference between the those snowflakes must be too small to even be measured.

[@drawinglife2008]

When where you live has -no snowflakes-

[@cuneytkaymak4997]

how can all this beauty happen without a creator???

[@ZexMaxwell]

talk about space x next!

[@AdhiNarayananYR]

This reminds me of the movie frozen. :)

[@BecomingAlpha1]

Nature is fucking beautiful!

[@eatshit1499]

رائع وجميل لكن ما فهمت ليش الثلج شكله سداسي . المشكلة ماني عارف احلم فيه لاني ماقدشقته بحايتي يتساقط من السماء #الرياض #حر