- #1
Roald Schrack
I am a retired physicist who spent a happy 47 years at the National Bureau of standards ( now called National Institute of Standards and technology) Some 50 fifty years ago I came across a book by U. Nakaya on snowflakes. At the same time I was following some work at the Naval Research Lab. by Ross Gunn on the electrification of clouds. Nakaya observed that all snowflakes are charged ( about 50-50 positive or negative) Since the water vapor molecule is a dipole it is sensitive to the gradient of the field and thus the polarity doesn't matter. I decided that the charge and the accompanying electrostatic field had an influence on snowflake growth. Recent videos of snowflake growth have presented new information. I am trying to tie it all together.
