The physics of making a snowman

[Drakkith]

Send some of that snow down here to Louisiana!

 

[jedishrfu]

Dowel rod ==> giving my snowman a little backbone.

Nice touch!

I know stuff we did with snowballs was to have a pail of water to dunk the snowball in. Downside is very cold fingers but great ice balls.

Nowadays maybe a combination of thick rubber gloves (not latex although they might be more flexible and not break) over snow gloves would mitigate the cold fingers problem.

 

[Charles Link]

 

[Charles Link]

The photo above is a 3'6" snowman that I made today Sunday 2-27-22 from snow that fell a couple days ago. It was too cold for packing when it fell (26 degrees), but the temperatures are near 40 degrees today in Chicago, and it packed very well.

 

[Charles Link]

 

[Charles Link]

The above photo is a 5'0" snowman that I made today, Monday March 7. The snow packed very well with temperatures around 35 degrees in Chicago, and it took me only about 20 minutes to make.

 

[jedishrfu]

How does Mr Snowman feel about his height? Is that with or without the cap on top?

 

[Charles Link]

How does Mr Snowman feel about his height? Is that with or without the cap on top?

@jedishrfu This one is a full 60"=5'0" without the cap. :-)

 

[Drakkith]

How does Mr Snowman feel about his height?

A lady never tells!

 

[Charles Link]

 

[Charles Link]

The above is a photo of the 3'8" snowman I made today, Tuesday November 15, 2022, in Chicago, as we had our first snowfall of the season. The snow packed well with temperatures about 35 degrees.

 

[Astronuc]

We're waiting for a chance of snow tonight. Meanwhile, further to the east from Chicago, we are expecting rain, which will allegedly turn to snow and then back to rain, possibly freezing rain, before just cold rain.

 

[jedishrfu]

Your snowman looks great.

Maybe you could post physicsforums sign next him and he can become our mascot. @Greg Bernhardt would like that.

We're flying to upstate NY Albany-Schenectady-Troy area tomorrow and hoping there's no snow.

 

[Charles Link]

 

[Charles Link]

The above post is a photo of a 5'0" snowman that I made today, Wednesday December 28, 2022, from snow that had fallen December 22nd. The snow was too cold to pack on that day (in Chicago), but now the temperatures are finally above freezing, and today it got up to 40 degrees and it packed very readily.

 

[Charles Link]

 

[Charles Link]

The above photo is a 3'8" snowman that I made today, Sunday January 22, 2023, in Chicago. The snow packed well with temperatures just above freezing.

 

[hutchphd]

During the Christmas-week cold snap we got maybe 2 inches of snow and the thermometer was -12F at 10pm. I went for a walk and was delighted to become re-acquainted with (really loud) dry squeaky snow.... ^-squeak- _-squeak- ^-squeak- _-squeak- ^-squeak- _-squeak- ^-squeak- _-squeak-

I think it may have been particularly loud because the ground was not very wet and the frost line not very deep......maybe a resonator?

 

[Charles Link]

 

[Charles Link]

The above is a photo of a 5'6" snowman that I made today, Wednesday January 25, 2023, along with the one from Sunday that now measures 2'8" tall. The smaller one had toppled over on Sunday, and I reassembled it, but we also had a couple of days of milder weather. The new one was very easy to make with temperatures slightly above freezing =the snow packed well, and I had plenty of snow with the 2"-3" that fell in Chicago overnight.

 

[Charles Link]

 

[Charles Link]

The above is a photo of the two snowmen from last week today on Groundhog Day, Thursday 2-2-23. The larger one has now shrunk from 5'6" to about 4'0". They saw their shadows, but let's hope for an early spring.

 

[jedishrfu]

Nope Punxsutawney Phil said six more weeks.

https://www.wtae.com/article/punxsutawney-phil-groundhog-day-2023-prediction/42742537

 

[Charles Link]

 

[Charles Link]

The above photo is a 3'4" snowman that I made today, Friday 2-17-23, in Chicago. The snow didn't pack very well=it was below freezing, but some sunshine and the warmer ground below made it semi-manageable for packing.

 

[hutchphd]

No snow at all in Indy. A few years ago I snapped on my cross-country skis for a spring, cold-snow/warm-ground, attempt at skiing. It ended fairly quickly with my skis weighing about 5 pounds apiece and I looked like I had Homer Simpson feet. Should have known better.

 

[jedishrfu]

Never skied for fear of looking like some other comic figures.

 

[jedishrfu]

We seldom get snow here in Austin. Most recently we got THE ICE STORM where Mother Nature dumped freezing rain one day, made sure it was frozen and then dumped more freezing rain the second day to truly overload the live oak trees everywhere.

Now we have loads of branches to cleanup with an estimate of April before the city will complete the pickup. Until then piles and piles sit on our front lawn waiting for that special day.

One highlight though were two huge branches crashed down on our backyard fountain. Neither of them even touched our Buddha Frog sitting serenely in the middle of the chaos.

My son suggested he used the power of mind to deflect them.

 

[Tom.G]

Neither of them even touched our Buddha Frog sitting serenely in the middle of the chaos.

https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/5c05c258-5487-4e68-b399-19068b82de95-jpeg.322445/

Looks like Superfrog is holding it up with one hand ... err, foot!

 

[jedishrfu]

Upon closer inspection, please note the branch is suspended above his foot by about 1 inch or so being held there by total serenity.

 

[Charles Link]

 

[Charles Link]

The above is a photo of a 3'0" snowman that I made today, Saturday 2-25-23, in Chicago. This morning it was too cold 26 degrees, for the snow to pack, but by noon it was just above freezing, and the snow was disappearing from the warm ground below. I had a narrow window to make the snowman, and I got it together just in time.

 

[Charles Link]

 

[Charles Link]

The above is a photo of a 4'1" snowman that I made today, Friday 3-10-23, in Chicago. The temperatures are a little above freezing, so the snow packed very well.

 

[Charles Link]