WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Unique Snowflakes

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>there's Jerry, and this is the abbreviated version of stuff

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<v Speaker 1>you should know short stuff, that's right, And this one

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<v Speaker 1>we're gonna talk about uh as as dumb hippie liberals.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna talk about our favorite thing, snowflakes. Oh man,

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<v Speaker 1>it's funny how that guy co opted because I think

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<v Speaker 1>it's quite a compliment. I'm like, yeah, I am an individual.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know, I am a unique. You want to

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<v Speaker 1>know what you do when somebody calls you a snowflake?

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<v Speaker 1>You just smile and twirl to show them all you

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<v Speaker 1>got and say, who doesn't love snowflakes? Love being a snowflake?

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<v Speaker 1>So here's the deal. But the whole point of this

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<v Speaker 1>uh fourteen minutes that you're gonna undertake with us is

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<v Speaker 1>the old um not wives tale, because it's true, the

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<v Speaker 1>old notion that snowflakes are actually unique, every single snowflake

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<v Speaker 1>is actually unique. And the answer to that, we're happy

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<v Speaker 1>to say is yes, it certainly seems to be the case. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's awesome. I feel like we've done something on this,

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<v Speaker 1>like maybe in one of our short videos before something

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<v Speaker 1>like that, But I wonder if we said the opposite.

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<v Speaker 1>But now that we did this research, I'm like, how

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<v Speaker 1>could we possibly have said the opposite. It's just not

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<v Speaker 1>it's not possible. Yeah, I mean we we should say

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<v Speaker 1>that a lot of snowflakes, and we're gonna go through

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<v Speaker 1>how they're they're formed. But in the very early stages

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<v Speaker 1>snowflakes can be pretty identical and and even in the

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<v Speaker 1>end sometimes they can be similar. But technically they are

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<v Speaker 1>all unique because so many different things can affect each

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<v Speaker 1>individual snowflake along the way that there's just no way

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<v Speaker 1>that they could be the same. Yeah. It takes a

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<v Speaker 1>mind boggling number of factors and inputs, each of which

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<v Speaker 1>variables I guess you'd call them, each of which can

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<v Speaker 1>change and just changed to one of them, got a

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<v Speaker 1>different snowflake, changed to a couple, it got an even

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<v Speaker 1>more different snowflake. There's just so many, so many different

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<v Speaker 1>things that go into making a snowflake that, yeah, it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's just not possible that they're not all unique. But

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<v Speaker 1>to understand all this, you have to understand how a

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<v Speaker 1>snowflake is made. And by golly, Chuck and I are

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<v Speaker 1>just the people to tell you all right, So we

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<v Speaker 1>did some. I think it was our our happy Clouds

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<v Speaker 1>episode which was really terrific quite a few years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>which you can refer to if you want a longer explanation.

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<v Speaker 1>But um, when when rain or in this case snow

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<v Speaker 1>falls out of the sky, it starts down on the

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<v Speaker 1>surface of the earth, um as water that evaporates from

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<v Speaker 1>our lakes, our oceans are rivers, rises up into the

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<v Speaker 1>atmosphere as water vapor, and sometimes that can form a

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<v Speaker 1>happy puffy cloud. It can and then depending on the

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<v Speaker 1>type of cloud, and if it's cold enough, which it

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<v Speaker 1>usually is, some of that water vapor will condense around,

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<v Speaker 1>say like a piece of dust or something like that.

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<v Speaker 1>It will condense in from water vapor which is a gas,

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<v Speaker 1>into liquid which is a liquid water, and usually it

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<v Speaker 1>does it around like a piece of dust or something

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<v Speaker 1>that that nucleates it. But what what another way to

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<v Speaker 1>say it is it reaches its dew point, the point

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<v Speaker 1>where the temperature where it changes from vapor into liquid.

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<v Speaker 1>And as it does that, if it's cold enough, it

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<v Speaker 1>will then turn into ice. And what you have is

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<v Speaker 1>basically the the beginning standard template of a snowflake, which

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<v Speaker 1>if you stopped and said, okay, right, now, are all

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<v Speaker 1>snowflakes alike? You would say, yeah, they're actually they're they're

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<v Speaker 1>pretty similar. Sure, we'll go with that. But that's just

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<v Speaker 1>like the beginning of the snowflake. It's the basis of it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the, like I said, the template that all snowflakes

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<v Speaker 1>start from. And it's usually just a little six sided

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<v Speaker 1>hexagonal plate. Yeah. So you have these little tiny ice crystals. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>they start floating around in the sky and smashing and

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<v Speaker 1>colliding with other water vapor molecules along the way, and

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<v Speaker 1>every time it does that, it collects. Uh well, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess it collects. It sort of con tacks these

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<v Speaker 1>crystals and it sort of just starts collecting this stuff

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<v Speaker 1>and getting a little more solid and a little more

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<v Speaker 1>substantial all around that little original nucleus that was where

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<v Speaker 1>they were all similar to one another. Right. And then

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<v Speaker 1>so this snowflake, as it's kind of moving around up

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<v Speaker 1>in the atmosphere like I'm building, I'm growing, it runs

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<v Speaker 1>into other water vapor, and that water vapor rather than

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<v Speaker 1>going through the trouble of moving from a gas to

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<v Speaker 1>a liquid to a solid, which is you know, an

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<v Speaker 1>ice crystal it just it. It goes through what's called deposition.

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<v Speaker 1>It goes straight from water vapor into a solid and

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<v Speaker 1>attaches to that snowflake template. And as it does so, um,

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<v Speaker 1>it will start to form some of the more intricate

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<v Speaker 1>details of that snowflake. And that happens again and again

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<v Speaker 1>and again and again, and you get layer after layer

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<v Speaker 1>after layer of ice crystals forming on this plate, and

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<v Speaker 1>all of a sudden, you have like arms that account

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<v Speaker 1>and those arms stick to get detailed. Now the snowflake

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<v Speaker 1>is starting to take shape. So you've got water vapor

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<v Speaker 1>that freezes and starts to attract other water vapor that

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<v Speaker 1>freezes onto it, that starts to give snowflakes their size

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<v Speaker 1>and their shape. But there's lots more variables involved. That's right,

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<v Speaker 1>And we'll take a little break here. We're gonna come

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<v Speaker 1>back and talk about the remaining formation of snowflakes read

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<v Speaker 1>after this. M M all right. So you mentioned that

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<v Speaker 1>it was hexagonal or did you say hexagonal? I think

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<v Speaker 1>I said hexagonal like a dumb dumb uh. And so

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you've got these little arms sticking out, and

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes on the edge of these arms are a little jagged. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>It's sort of like jagged like a serrated knife. And

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<v Speaker 1>these uneven areas as you know, exactly what you think.

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<v Speaker 1>Because they're uneven and stuff sticking out a little farther,

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<v Speaker 1>it's gonna attract even more water molecules than it would

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<v Speaker 1>if it was smooth and uniform like other parts of

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<v Speaker 1>that same snowflake. So that's how you build out. When

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<v Speaker 1>you think of like or if you see a you know,

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<v Speaker 1>a microscopic view of a snowflake, Uh, those are what

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<v Speaker 1>those little arms and those little jagged crystal sticking off

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<v Speaker 1>that make it so beautiful. That's what's going on there, right,

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<v Speaker 1>And like you said, because these arms are kind of

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<v Speaker 1>like sticking out there, they're attracting more and more water

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<v Speaker 1>vapor that's sticking to them, and it's building out and

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<v Speaker 1>growing out into this um larger, more intricate, more detailed

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<v Speaker 1>crystalline structure. So once you have those arms, it seems

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<v Speaker 1>to be almost like, uh, I don't want to say

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<v Speaker 1>a tipping point, you know why, but um, that is

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<v Speaker 1>what happens, and all of a sudden, the snowflakes starts

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<v Speaker 1>to really take shape. Yeah, and here's where the environment

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<v Speaker 1>comes into play, because depending on a lot of different

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<v Speaker 1>factors like, uh, temperature obviously humidity, um like really really

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<v Speaker 1>really cold temperature that will really vary what kind of

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<v Speaker 1>snowflakes like size and shape that you're gonna get. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>And I was like why temperature. So temperature is a

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<v Speaker 1>measure of the um the movement the energy of like

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<v Speaker 1>uh like molecules or atoms or whatever, right, but I

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't figure out why the lower the temperature, the more

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<v Speaker 1>intricate the snowflake got. Yeah, what is that? Everything I

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<v Speaker 1>saw was just basically like, that's just the way it is. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>So that's what we're gonna have to go with you. Basically,

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<v Speaker 1>is this is the way it is. If you understand

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<v Speaker 1>why that is the case, please tell us because we

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<v Speaker 1>want to know. Right. But like those when you think

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<v Speaker 1>of those, uh they describe it as fern like arms,

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<v Speaker 1>like those awesome looking arms with all the little jagged

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<v Speaker 1>things sticking off. That's when it's like prime snowflake time,

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<v Speaker 1>when it's super super cold, right precisely, um so, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>you've got extra moisture, like if it's a little more humid,

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<v Speaker 1>that that's gonna affect the shape of the snowflake. It's

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<v Speaker 1>gonna make them fatter usually and then lower temperature. So

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<v Speaker 1>if you've got somehow higher higher humidity, lower temperature, that's

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<v Speaker 1>when you get your true money snowflakes that people like

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<v Speaker 1>put on the cover of National Geographic Yeah, lower humidity

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<v Speaker 1>is flatter, um higher is fatter, Right, That's that's the

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<v Speaker 1>rhyme that I was raised with. Uh And and like

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<v Speaker 1>you said, if it's super humid and super cold, that's

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<v Speaker 1>that's the rock star. Yes, So okay, that's the physics

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<v Speaker 1>of making a snowflake. There's all those different variables. There's

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<v Speaker 1>some other ones to Like, snowflakes that are forming will

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<v Speaker 1>collide with one another, then some of their arms will

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<v Speaker 1>break off, so they'll that will then attract even more crystals.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's going to change the shape and of it.

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<v Speaker 1>Um the different conditions that form that are all factors

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<v Speaker 1>and variables in the forming of a snowflake. All of

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<v Speaker 1>those things change from cubic centimeter cubic millimeter of air

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<v Speaker 1>um between one next to another. So snowflake that forms

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<v Speaker 1>in this one part of is passing through this one

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<v Speaker 1>part of the atmosphere is going to be subject to

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<v Speaker 1>these variables. But the same variables will be totally different,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a couple of cubic centimeters over. So you've

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<v Speaker 1>got all these different variables that are are coming into it,

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<v Speaker 1>and apparently when you add these variables up, it becomes

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<v Speaker 1>a there becomes a mind boggling number of different possible

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<v Speaker 1>combinations of snowflakes, shapes, and crystalline structure, so much so

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<v Speaker 1>that it just seems basically impossible that the over the

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<v Speaker 1>current age of the universe, certainly over the current age

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<v Speaker 1>of Earth, that enough snowflakes have fallen that two of

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<v Speaker 1>them could ever have been Like, yeah, so they estimate

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<v Speaker 1>um as many as a quintillion quintillion number of molecules

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<v Speaker 1>or quintillion molecules in a single snowflake, and that the

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<v Speaker 1>possible combinations of all these molecules and potential combinations are

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<v Speaker 1>two times as many as atoms as there are atoms

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<v Speaker 1>in the entire universe. So I look that up. Is

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<v Speaker 1>that could that be possible? That's that's what this article says.

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<v Speaker 1>The number of atoms in the universe is either between

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<v Speaker 1>ten to the seventy eight power and ten to the

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<v Speaker 1>eighties second power total atoms in the universe, which is

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<v Speaker 1>between ten quadrillion vigintillion and no, I swear to God

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<v Speaker 1>and a hundred thousand quadrillion vigintilions atoms, so twice that

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<v Speaker 1>twice that he literally decided like like a ten year

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<v Speaker 1>old quintillion bill basically, so that that there's that many

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<v Speaker 1>different possible combinations of snowflakes um and that's just the structure.

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<v Speaker 1>If you take into account the different the different water

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<v Speaker 1>molecules that come together, what time span would it take

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<v Speaker 1>for enough snowflakes to fall and enough of this this

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<v Speaker 1>this snowflake formation to happen, that all of those same

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<v Speaker 1>water molecules happened to come together again, and that snowflake

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<v Speaker 1>happens to take the same form because it's exposed to

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<v Speaker 1>the same variables. It's just it probably will never ever

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<v Speaker 1>ever happen. Yeah, I mean, a tiny fleck of dust

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<v Speaker 1>can change the crystals. Uh. The angle where you know

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<v Speaker 1>we're talking about how they collide with one another. It's

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<v Speaker 1>it's like a car crash. If you get t boned,

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<v Speaker 1>your cars are going look different than if you get

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<v Speaker 1>hit head on. It's the same. They're depending on the

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<v Speaker 1>angle in which they collide that's going to change the

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<v Speaker 1>shape of the snowflake, so it really seems true that

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<v Speaker 1>there may have never been to snowflake e exactly like

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<v Speaker 1>in the end, you may be the first human being

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<v Speaker 1>to ever use a car crash to illustrate how snowflakes

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<v Speaker 1>can be different. Oh goodness. Uh, so that's why everyone,

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<v Speaker 1>you can go around and feel very confident explaining to

0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:18.600
<v Speaker 1>all of your friends and co workers and loved ones

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<v Speaker 1>that it is true no two snowflakes are like. They're

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<v Speaker 1>all unique and different. Uh. And if you want to

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<v Speaker 1>get in touch with us about this, you can go

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<v Speaker 1>onto our website stuff we Should Know dot com, check

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<v Speaker 1>out our social links there, and you can send us

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<v Speaker 1>an email to stuff podcast how Stuff Works dot com.