Snowflakes Accurately Simulated in 3-Dby Lauren Effron
 Geometrically simple yet remarkably symmetrical, snowflakes are beautiful, complex crystal structures that have puzzled scientists for centuries. Although many have tried, no one has been able to accurately simulate their growth with the precision found in nature -- until now. Mathematicians David Griffeath and Janko Gravner have developed an elaborate computer model that uses a repetitive algorithm to replicate the wildly complicated growth of snow crystals in three dimensions, and recently had their findings published in the Physical Review E. It's the first time anyone has come close to demonstrating how these feathery ice crystals form in such elaborate patterns - and why. According to their model, some aspects of what an "actual snowflake" looks like have been surprising. "Everyone cuts them out of paper in third grade, but very few folks have actually seen them," Griffeath says. "Snowflakes on Christmas cards, and what images we conjure up to be snowflakes - they're all completely bogus." In this slide show, we present Griffeath and Grayner's results, including the snowflake shown above, as we walk through their model and how it's cracking the code of the mysterious snowflake. |
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