The Snowflake [Hardcover]

Kenneth Libbrecht (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0896586308 | ISBN-13: 978-0896586307 | Edition: 1

Snowflakes may be an everyday, common subject, but youve never seen them like this! A collection of amazing photography of snow crystals using a unique system designed to take super-detailed micro images of these miniature ice masterpieces, "The Snowflake" is an extraordinary look at a seemingly ordinary object. Author Kenneth Libbrecht, a physics professor at Caltech and the pre-eminent snow-crystal researcher, discusses the physics and mythology of snow and how snow crystals are made. Photographer Patricia Rasmussen presents remarkable color micro-photography of snowflakes, and also discusses the history of snow-crystal micro-photography as invented by farmer Wilson Bentley.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Physicist Libbrecht and photographer Rasmussen both grew up in snowy climes, but it took a scientific and aesthetic focus to deepen their appreciation for snow's hidden beauty, revelations they now share in a felicitous union of word and image. Libbrecht decodes the exquisite architecture of individual snowflakes by explaining how these "miniature ice masterpieces" are literally conjured out of thin air as water vapor condenses into ice in shapes dictated by the geometry of water molecules. Temperature, humidity, and motion all contribute to the forming of snow crystals, which shape-shift rapidly from simple faceted structures to complex branching forms, growing and falling at the rate of a million billion crystals a second. The physics of snow crystals is fascinating, and so, too, is Libbrecht's history of the science of snowflakes, which features Rene Descartes; Johannes Kepler; Vermont farmer Wilson Bentley, who pioneered a method for photographing individual snowflakes; and physicist Ukichiro Nakaya, who figured out how to grow them. And then there are Rasmussen's exquisite photographs of these gems. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Los Angeles Times, Feb. 16, 2006 (circ.: Orange County edition: 187,300; LA edition: 908,000; Valley edition: 200,600)

“With a series of books, photographs and a Web site (www.snowcrystals.com) that gets 2 million hits a year, Libbrecht is expanding his snowflake empire this year when the U.S. Postal Service issues a commemorative four-stamp set with his snow crystal photos. Later, a new Libbrecht book will hit the stands: a pocket-sized field guide to snowflake types that will make it easy for every man to identify and classify nature’s frozen art.”

The Polar Times (official publication of the American Polar Society), January 2006 (circ. unavailable)

“Anyone who appreciates the handsome, intricate symmetry of snow crystals must buy Kenneth Libbrecht’s book.”

Home Education Magazine Dec. 1, 2007

“For the truly snow-obsessed, The Snowflake is an excellent overview of the history, science, and art of snowflakes, illustrated with exquisite photographs.”

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Voyageur Press; 1 edition (November 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896586308
• ISBN-13: 978-0896586307
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 0.7 x 10.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #658,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Photos and Inspired Science January 5, 2004

By R. Hardy HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

It is hard to think of a natural phenomenon that has more intrinsic delight and fascination than a snowflake. Sure, the things pile up and please skiers and dismay drivers, but taken one by one, each snowflake is not only pretty, it has enough complexity and mystery about it to delight any careful observer. In _The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty_ (Voyageur Press), two careful observers have documented what intrigues them about snowflakes. Kenneth Libbrecht is head of the physics department of Caltech, and he not only rushes out with a magnifying glass when it snows, he grows snowflakes artificially in his lab. Patricia Rasmussen is a photographer who started taking pictures of snowflakes with her own equipment and then used Libbrecht's special apparatus. This is a book a little larger than a hundred pages, but the pictures are elegant, and the text tells the current explanations, as far as we now know them (there are still mysteries), of why snowflakes look the way they do.

The famous snowflake pictures of William Bentley inspired Rasmussen to start taking pictures of snow. Bentley's pictures are carefully reproduced white-on-black images, but Rasmussen has experimented with colored light to give multicolored pastels that shine on and through the hundreds of crystals depicted here. There are plenty of the six-armed variety, but also triangular snowflakes, and twelve, eighteen, or twenty-four armed ones, as well as tiny ice crystals shaped like needles, prisms, barrels, or bullets. can form at the right conditions. Different humidity and temperature produces the shapes. For the familiar snowflake, each arm experiences the same microclimate, so each changes in the same way. One arm of a flake thus does not "know" what the other arms are doing so it can turn itself out identically; they are all simply products of identical environmental history. As can be suspected, snowflakes that develop in the same regions have the same general design. But of course, everyone knows that no snowflakes are identical. Libbrecht considers whether this question is really true, and finds it cannot be answered without close considerations of "What is a snowflake?" and "What is identical?"

Snowflake science is here presented clearly and with good humor by someone who obviously loves his work. Libbrecht demonstrates that since a snowflake is a billion billion water molecules grabbed from the atmosphere, some of them are from your own exhalations. He does the calculations to show that about a thousand of the water molecules in every snowflake you see in this book (and of course, any other snowflake) come from you. "Thank you for your contribution," he says, "and keep up the good work." Jaunty and illuminating scientific descriptions, plus the most beautiful pictures of snowflakes ever made, make this a volume that can be valued for eye-catching brilliance or mind-engaging elucidation.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Photographs. Readable, Informative Text. December 11, 2003

By mirasreviews HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The first thing that anyone will notice upon opening "The Snowflake" is Patricia Rasmussen's incredible photographs. I am something of a snowflake enthusiast, and I have never seen such stunning photographs of snow before. There are over 100 exquisitely detailed photographs of snow crystals and snowflakes that will take your breath away. Fans of "The Snowflake Man", W. A. Bentley, will love this book. But it isn't just pretty pictures. The photographs illustrate a text by physicist Kenneth Libbrecht. Dr. Libbrecht is a snow crystal researcher, and his fluid prose successfully communicates the depth of knowledge and enthusiasm he has for his subject. "The Snowflake" has eight chapters, all of which are generously illustrated with photographs and most of which are short. The first seven chapters explain how and why snow crystals form the way they do, as well as the history of our understanding of snow. Libbrecht's text is detailed and technical, but it is very readable and easily understood by a lay person. And he moves onto the next topic before you have a chance to become bored by the particulars of the last. Chapter 8, which is by far the longest chapter at 32 pages, is a "Field Guide to Falling Snow". All types of snow crystal, both common and rare, are described and pictured so that the reader will be able to identify just about anything he/she might encounter falling from the winter sky. "The Snowflake" is a thoroughly enjoyable and genuinely inspiring book. Patricia Rasmussen's photographs are a testament to the extraordinary beauty that can be found is such a small natural wonder as a snowflake. And Kenneth Libbrecht's writing is sure to inspire many of his readers to abandon their cozy living rooms and head outside with a magnifying glass the next time it snows. I think that Dr. Libbrecht succeeds in the seemingly absurd task of making us understand why snow crystals are so fascinating that a person might dedicate his professional life to understanding them. "The Snowflake" is a great winter read, a lovely "coffee table" book, an informative scientific text for enthusiasts of all ages, and it might even cheer you up during the next snow storm. If your car is stuck, your walk needs shoveling, and you are tired of all that white stuff, a chapter of "The Snowflake" and an inexpensive magnifying glass will surely put things in a better light. Fans and practitioners of macro photography will also find this book irresistible.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book December 6, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

What a wonderful book! I had what I would call
a passing interest in snowflakes -- until
I got this book. Since childhood I had heard that no
two snowflakes were alike. That was interesting.
Well wait until you read this book. Snowflakes
are not just interesting, they're fascinating!
The photographs are amazing.
Just stare at the photograph on page 37 for awhile
and you will be convinced. Look at the extraordinary
detail, the amazing complexity, and yet the perfect
symmetry. Each of the 6 "arms" are the same and yet
so complicated. And then look at a completely
different snowflake on page 50, for example.
Again the complexity with the symmetry is striking.
All arms very much the same but very different from
the 6 arms on the page 37 flake. How do they do that?
You'll have to read the book to find out. And the flakes
are not all about the arms. Stare at the central portion
of the snowflake on page 42 for example. Look
at the exquisite detail in there. To me it looks like 6 insects
feeding at a trough. Just amazing.
One of the most astounding facts to find out is that
you are probably part of each and every snowflake
pictured in the book! I'm talking about part of you
physically -- in every snowflake that falls to
the ground. That stood the hairs up on the back of my
neck. Although this is a great coffee table book,
it's also a book you're going to want to sit down and read.
It makes a great gift to take when you visit someone. It

makes a great gift in general and a particularly good
one during the winter hoilday season. The quality is superb;
it's hard to believe they can sell it for such a low price.
And, oh, is it really true that no two snowflakes are alike?
We're talking billions and billions of flakes here.
Surely to goodness and mercy you can find two that
are alike. Well, you'll have to get the book to find out
the answer to that one. So far I've bought 14 of these gems
and I'll probably be getting more.

I give this book the highest possible rating -- 5 stars!