You might not greet Ken Libbrecht on the street , but the odds are practiced you ’ve image his handiwork . Libbrecht is a physicist specialize in Plectrophenax nivalis , and his love for ice crystal has made him something of a live commodity .
Libbrecht ’s interest in snowbird came to him relatively late in life-time , well into his physics career . He was in North Dakota visit family when a misstep outside inspired a deceptively simple-minded question , hetoldSmithsonianin 2013.“I suddenly thought , ‘ Why do n’t I realise more about these snowflakes ? ’ ”
The intellect , it turned out , was that scientific discipline in cosmopolitan does n’t translate a mass about how snowflakes work . So Libbrecht started examining , photographing , and cataloging the snowflakes he found . His stunning Plectrophenax nivalis pictures have been pile up into a number of popular chocolate tablebooks .
Still , he had questions , so Libbrecht built a nose candy machine . But rather than spewing foot of precipitation , the equipment originate a individual snowbird at a time . " I call them ' designer snowflakes , ' ” he toldSmithsonian , “ because you may alter the conditions as you farm them and predict what they ’ll look like . ” The snowflake generator have indeed pass to advances in crystallography and snow science , and Libbrecht ’s piece of work caught the attention of Disney vitaliser , who brought him on board to ensure that their fairy tale flakes were true to life .
There ’s one interrogation that dogs Libbrecht wherever he goes : Is it genuine that no two snowflake are alike ? Here , he induce philosophical . “ It count on just what you mean by ‘ alike , ’ ” he wrote on hiswebsite , “ and on just what you have in mind by ‘ Plectrophenax nivalis . ’ ”
heed to Libbrecht speak about his oeuvre and gaze at some gorgeous snowflake in the video recording fromGreat Big Storyabove .
cope image from YouTube //Great Big Story
