If THIS is newsworthy...
by
LePrince
·
· Score: 0, Flamebait
If this is newsworthy, then this is too :
I developped a telepathic form of communication through IP. You want some proof ?
Close your eyes. What do you see? All black ? THAT'S MY WALLPAPER, ALL BLACK, NO DRAWING ! Wow... You see, through telepathy via IP, I was able to show you MY desktop !
If this doesn't make Slashdot frontpage, what will?
Re:It's not that bad
by
Elbereth
·
· Score: 0, Flamebait
Come on critics, we can have a diversion once in a while. What's wrong with some snowflakes? They are pretty, and the post doesn't take up too much space on the front page of slashdot. It's my opinion that this world could use a little more senseless beauty.
What are you, some sort of commie or hippie?
Re:Why they're symmetrical
by
k98sven
·
· Score: 1, Flamebait
This explanation [caltech.edu] is obviously handwaving-- the symmetry is perfect (or close to it) over scales of millions of molecules.
I've been arguing since 1980 or so that an ice crystal in freefall is not at absolute zero (obviously) so it must have internal vibrations. This is basically 'noise', but as it echoes thru the ice, it stops looking random and becomes symmetrical, like Chladni patterns [google.com] on a vibrating plate or drumhead. (Or like the radiating circles from a drip of water into a circular pool, reconverging at an opposite point.) Because these symmetries are present from the first stage of growth, they maintain symmetrical growth. [snip]
This explanation is just crackpot-science. Crystal growth and dendrite-formation are well-understood subjects within physical chemistry.
Of course their explanation is grossly simplified, that page is oriented towards the layman, not inorganic chemists. If you don't understand it, read a book on the subject.
Molecular vibrations are present at absolute zero, they're called zero-point vibrations and are a well-known consequence of quantum theory.
Suggesting that all water molecules in a snowflake crystal vibrate in harmony in a state of equillibrium violates the laws of thermodynamics.
Re:Why they're symmetrical
by
k98sven
·
· Score: 0, Flamebait
>>This explanation is just crackpot-science. >(Why do geeks so often get defensive when you point out gaps in science's perfection?)
No, I just get irritated when people flaunt their own ignorance as an argument that something must be poorly understood by everyone else as well.
>>Crystal growth and dendrite-formation are well-understood subjects within physical chemistry.
>Not symmetries that are maintained over distances of a millimeter or more.
What do you supposedly mean by "symmetry"? Snowflakes are not perfectly symmetric. Anyway, dendrite formation simulation (at the macroscopic scale) is a popular subject in numerical methods. Here's a quick link off google.
>>Suggesting that all water molecules in a snowflake crystal vibrate in harmony in a state of equillibrium violates the laws of thermodynamics.
>Which law is that? Conservation of Chaos?;^/
That's one way of putting it, if you like. Although "maximation of chaos" would be better. The second law of thermodynamics.
Molecular vibrational levels are Boltzmann-distributed at equillibrium, if all molecules in an ensemble were to vibrate at the same level they would have low entropy, in time (and in crystals this can be as slow as 10^-10 s) the distribution of vibrations among the molecules will spread out until a Boltzmann distribution is reached.
Slashdot Mirror
I developped a telepathic form of communication through IP. You want some proof ?
Close your eyes. What do you see? All black ? THAT'S MY WALLPAPER, ALL BLACK, NO DRAWING ! Wow... You see, through telepathy via IP, I was able to show you MY desktop !
If this doesn't make Slashdot frontpage, what will?
What are you, some sort of commie or hippie?
This explanation [caltech.edu] is obviously handwaving-- the symmetry is perfect (or close to it) over scales of millions of molecules.
I've been arguing since 1980 or so that an ice crystal in freefall is not at absolute zero (obviously) so it must have internal vibrations. This is basically 'noise', but as it echoes thru the ice, it stops looking random and becomes symmetrical, like Chladni patterns [google.com] on a vibrating plate or drumhead. (Or like the radiating circles from a drip of water into a circular pool, reconverging at an opposite point.) Because these symmetries are present from the first stage of growth, they maintain symmetrical growth.
[snip]
This explanation is just crackpot-science.
Crystal growth and dendrite-formation are well-understood subjects within physical chemistry.
Of course their explanation is grossly simplified, that page is oriented towards the layman, not inorganic chemists.
If you don't understand it, read a book on the subject.
Molecular vibrations are present at absolute zero, they're called zero-point vibrations and are a well-known consequence of quantum theory.
Suggesting that all water molecules in a snowflake crystal vibrate in harmony in a state of equillibrium violates the laws of thermodynamics.
>>This explanation is just crackpot-science.
;^/
>(Why do geeks so often get defensive when you point out gaps in science's perfection?)
No, I just get irritated when people flaunt their own ignorance as an argument that something must be poorly understood by everyone else as well.
>>Crystal growth and dendrite-formation are well-understood subjects within physical chemistry.
>Not symmetries that are maintained over distances of a millimeter or more.
What do you supposedly mean by "symmetry"? Snowflakes are not perfectly symmetric.
Anyway, dendrite formation simulation (at the macroscopic scale) is a popular subject in numerical methods. Here's a quick link off google.
>>Suggesting that all water molecules in a snowflake crystal vibrate in harmony in a state of equillibrium violates the laws of thermodynamics.
>Which law is that? Conservation of Chaos?
That's one way of putting it, if you like. Although "maximation of chaos" would be better.
The second law of thermodynamics.
Molecular vibrational levels are Boltzmann-distributed at equillibrium, if all molecules in an ensemble were to vibrate at the same level they would have low entropy, in time (and in crystals this can be as slow as 10^-10 s) the distribution of vibrations among the molecules will spread out until a Boltzmann distribution is
reached.