Snowflake Similarities
As winter approaches, I pause to wonder…is it really true no two snowflakes are alike?
———- from Mike Harrison ofFarmington Hills, MI
The comparison of ice crystals is just a way to get kids interested in science these days. It’s just like saying a thousand chimps in a thousand years could write a Shakespeare play or cramming a bunch of kids in a lab to make hydrogen bark. These educational techniques are good ways to get kids interested, but, frankly, I’m not going to put a thousand apes in my lab anymore than I’m going to go out with a microscope in subzero temperatures to compare the crystal structure of snowflakes. I still enjoy making hydrogen bark, though. On a snowy winter evening when there’s nothing on television and I’m bored with number crunching, I’ll whip up a bunch of hydrogen and make it bark all night long. As far as crystals go, I can’t help you. I had an Aunt Crystal and a girlfriend named Crystal who weren’t a bit alike, but I don’t suppose that proves anything.
The comparison of ice crystals is just a way to get kids interested in science these days. It’s just like saying a thousand chimps in a thousand years could write a Shakespeare play or cramming a bunch of kids in a lab to make hydrogen bark. These educational techniques are good ways to get kids interested, but, frankly, I’m not going to put a thousand apes in my lab anymore than I’m going to go out with a microscope in subzero temperatures to compare the crystal structure of snowflakes. I still enjoy making hydrogen bark, though. On a snowy winter evening when there’s nothing on television and I’m bored with number crunching, I’ll whip up a bunch of hydrogen and make it bark all night long. As far as crystals go, I can’t help you. I had an Aunt Crystal and a girlfriend named Crystal who weren’t a bit alike, but I don’t suppose that proves anything. 