How far will the science of snowflakes take us?
Snowflake © Istock
By: Caroline Lachowsky
2 min
How does the snow fall?
Why do flakes, marvels of symmetry of geometry and crystallography always have 6 branches?
How far will the science of snowflakes take us?
Publicity
Let's take a look at snowflakes, these splendid mini crystals, little marvels of symmetry and geometry that have fascinated the greatest mathematicians, astronomers, philosophers, physicists but also artists, poets and the great frosty children that we are.
Why do snowflakes always have 6 branches, wondered astronomer Johannes Kepler?
Would nature be written in mathematical language as Galileo sensed?
How to explain and reproduce such beauty?
What do snowflakes tell us about the sky's atmosphere and weather?
How did the science of snowflakes develop?
With
Etienne Ghys,
CNRS research director in the pure and applied mathematics unit, for his book
Petite Histoire des flocons de neige
published by Odile Jacob
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