Our snowflake decorations unique Christmas ornament ideas are 4½ inches across. The snowflake decorations are made of durable hard plastic covered with a soft gold color with iridescent glitter accents. These unique Christmas ornament ideas have a 3-D snowflake design that consists of three layers of multiple points. The snowflake design is the same on both sides of the unique Christmas ornament ideas. The snowflake decorations unique Christmas ornament ideas hang from a gold cord.
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What is Snow?
Snow is a form of precipitation that consists of crystals of ice. These crystals, called snow crystals, grow from water vapor in clouds. Water vapor is the gaseous form of water, the form that water assumes when it evaporates. A snowflake consists of up to 100 snow crystals clumped together.
Particles of snow vary in size from crystals almost too small to see with the unaided eye to snowflakes 1 inch or more in diameter. Some of the tiniest crystals occur in ice fog, a fog that can form in the Arctic regions when the temperature is extremely low.
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What is Ice?
Ice is frozen water. Low temperatures cause ice to form on lakes and rivers and on wet streets and sidewalks. Snow, sleet, frost and hail are ice and so are glaciers. Even in summer, ice may be present in high clouds. High clouds are composed of ice crystals.
Ice is plentiful throughout the universe. Ice is the main component of comets, which are much like dirty, loosely packed snowballs. Some of Jupiter’s moons, including Europa and Ganymede, may have layers of surface ice.
Pure water freezes at 32 degrees F. Water that contains other substances, such as alcohol, salt or sugar, freezes at a lower temperature For this reason, road crews put salt or other chemicals on icy streets to melt the ice and make the roads less slippery.
Ice is slippery because, even at temperatures slightly below 32 degrees, it has a thin, liquid like surface. Unlike the molecules within the crystal, the surface molecules are arranged in a disorderly way and they vibrate rapidly. The liquid like layer thus acts as a lubricant. An ice skater does not skid during a turn because the pressure and friction of the skate blades melt a narrow groove in the ice.
Ice attaches itself strongly to objects on which it forms. This property can be an annoyance when ice sticks to an automobile windshield. It can be a danger when ice sticks to airplane wings.
One property of ice is rare in nature. That is, ice is less dense than water. By contrast, the solid form of most substances is denser than the liquid form. Most liquids contract or decrease in volume, as they cool and freeze. When pure water cools below 39 degrees F, it expands until it freezes at 32 degrees. Because of ice’s low density, it floats on water instead of sinking. Without this property, ice would form on the bottom, rather than on the top, of lakes and rivers.
Water’s changes in volume can have harmful results. The expansion of freezing water in pipes may cause them to burst. The expansion and contraction of freezing and thawing water within the pavement of a road can cause the pavement to crumble.
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Amounts of Snowfall.
Snowfall varies greatly across the earth. Snow falls in the Polar Regions throughout the year. The heaviest snows occur during the winter in mountainous areas of the temperate zones, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle and between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle. These areas include the western coastal ranges of North and South America and the Alps in Europe.
In the United States, the record for snowfall in one year was set from July 1971 to June 1972 when 1,122 inches of snow fell at Rainier Paradise Ranger Station in Washington. In 1921, 76 inches of snow fell in silver Lake, Colorado, which set a record for the largest snowfall during a 24 hour period.
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