Perhaps you have ever heard the expression that no two snowflakes are alike . But have you ever wondered if it's really true and why? Today, with so much snow that we have seen around us, we got the curiosity bug and we did a little research. We tell you everything about our findings!

What are snowflakes

If you have ever seen it snow, you will have realized that it is a phenomenon that at first glance looks very similar to rain . Small drops fall from the sky and accumulate wherever they land. When it is water, puddles form and when it is snow, a denser layer that, if the temperatures remain low, stays with us for a few days so that we can create snowmen.

But is snow water that has frozen along the way due to the cold ? Well, you will be surprised to know that it is not! Although when it thaws it ends up being water, or if you try it or add frost to lemonade in summer, they are not formed from water droplets.

And then? When a drop of rain freezes, what is produced is snow water . That is, small snowflakes are mixed with frozen water, and when they reach the ground they do not end up curdling but become puddles like when it rains. What they are is vapor in the air (imagine when you shower with very hot water and a fog forms), which turns into ice without first turning into water.

To form a snowflake, a bunch of water molecules, that is, dots of water so small that we couldn't see them, find a speck of dust or dirt and stick to it. As they freeze, symmetrical shapes are created. That's why snowflakes seem so perfect to us ! The next time you see the star-shaped Christmas decoration, you will know that it is not a random drawing, but that is exactly the shape snowflakes can take.

Why are no two snowflakes alike?

Now that you know the difference between rain and snow, we return to our investigation of whether no two snowflakes are alike . At a very close view, the shapes and sizes of snowflakes are so varied that we could not find two completely identical drawings . But it's not because of their training!

Science has found out that the reason why no two snowflakes are the same, or at least it would be very rare if it happened, is due to the climate. When they fall, the temperature, humidity, wind strength or air pressure are different at each moment . Therefore, the spiked shape they take varies in each one of them.

It would be like pretending that every day you get up, have breakfast and get ready for school, you did everything exactly the same way. It is impossible! Even if it's the same time, it's a different day, and you may be more or less sleepy, hungry, or eager to go to school. How boring it would be if everything was always the same!

We hope that our explanation today has been interesting to you. And if you want to learn more curious things, be sure to read our Did You Know section!