Capturing the Beauty of Snowflakes | High-Speed Camera Reveals Secrets of Ice Crystals
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- čas přidán 9. 03. 2015
- In the late 1800's, Wilson Bentley and Gustav Hellmann began photographing snowflakes. Their photos would go on to spark the public's fascination with snowflakes. Today University of Utah engineer Cale Fallgatter and atmospheric scientist Tim Garrett are using a new camera system that photographs free-falling snowflakes.
The technology behind the camera that revealed the intricate, imperfect beauty of snowflakes can now expose their potential danger.
About three years ago, a new high-speed camera system captured freefalling ice crystals so well it might as well be yelling "freeze!". Developed at the University of Utah with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the system arose from scientific curiosity about snow.
Now, a less expensive, hardier version is headed to the marketplace to help improve safety.
This next-generation model has the same incredible capability, but is designed for use by departments of transportation to anticipate road conditions.
"Right now the problem in the transportation safety sector is to understand exactly what's falling out of the sky," says engineer Cale Fallgatter, who has an award from the NSF Small Business Technology Transfer program to commercialize the system. "Our goal was to come up with a game-changing instrument based on new technology to compete with what is currently out there."
Transportation departments nationwide use camera and sensor systems to collect and analyze data from weather stations to gauge road conditions.
There may be 50 to 150 of these systems, called road weather information system stations, in any given state. They help determine snow plow routes and preventative salting decisions.
"There are a lot of weather detection sensors that differentiate between rain and snow," says Ralph Patterson, a consultant meteorologist in Utah. "But you need pretty sophisticated visibility sensors and/or present weather detectors to get snowfall rates. With this camera you get the resolution of snow crystal type and the density."
The types of precipitation falling have serious implications for traffic safety, as anyone who has driven in sleet rather than flurries can attest.
But instruments in use now often don't provide enough detail for authorities to get a firm grasp on conditions, especially when temperatures hover near the freezing point.
The new system promises to send the snow diagnoses needed.
Using fundamental precipitation research from atmospheric scientist Timothy Garrett, who developed the original multi-angle snowflake camera with Fallgatter, the technology can resolve falling particles down to the diameter of a human hair and also measure the speed at which they fall. The first images produced by the team revealed the surprising diversity of snowflakes.
"Personally, it's really exciting, because not only did we build something that will reach a wider market, but the instrument is a big advance scientifically," Garrett says. "The trick is to develop existing technology and sell it for one-tenth the price."
For a roadside application, Fallgatter had to engineer a new prototype that would preserve the original camera system's amazing functionality while making it affordable for state transportation departments.
He did this in part by using off-the-shelf products instead of custom-made pieces. The new camera system, called the present weather imager, has 1.3 megapixels, is industrial grade and is priced to compete.
"It's the same high-level technology, but designed for roadside deployment," Fallgatter says.
It also has a revamped lighting system. While the original version used motion-activated LED lighting, the new prototype has a xenon-based lighting system with an infrared filter, which doesn't interfere with people's vision on roads at night.
The new imager includes a built-in computer that analyzes each picture and classifies the precipitation.
"The funding to Fallgatter Technologies will allow them to demonstrate an important new tool to better understand weather conditions in real-time," says Ben Schrag, NSF Small Business Innovation Research program director. "And will hopefully help local authorities and meteorologists to make better decisions with regards to severe weather."
The researchers plan to include an option for either a single camera or two-camera system, the latter of which would produce 3-D images, and give users an even more comprehensive view of each flake.
For more information visit: 1.usa.gov/1FNUkw7
Credits at end of video - Věda a technologie
this was more an advertisement of the camera rather than a documentary about snowflakes
Bill Killernic this was more strange and pathetic art student project than science video.
Bill Killernic yes
Bill Killernic i don'ctare about snow flakes .
The actual elements of winter are the star like crystals..
Slow flakes are ither partly melted crystals or crystals all together.
no
When I was a little girl my mother n I saw a snowflake that fell in my hand it was huge... N it was beautiful ❄ I still remember it. One of the most memorable moments I have ever had with my mom
❄️ You get the really beautiful ones when its really cold, then they gently fall on the soft snow in perfect beautiful star shapes, I spent my childhood catching them on my hands, face and tounge feeling the cold pinprick as it melts almost instantly 😊 🌨 Greetings from Sweden, one who knows ☃❤️
reading this i could imagine the words in image ! you should write a book ♥️🙏
1:18
“Each perfectly symmetrical”
Looks at 892
@Victor Foulcard there is. it's not a time stamp. photo #892
Probably melted
@Victor Foulcard Snowflake no 892
Lol
Victor Foulcard there is a 892, near the top
From an editing perspective I thoroughly enjoyed this video. The music and the way the man spoke were matched perfectly. The way the science was presented did not destroy the beauty and mystery of the snowflake, but even enhanced it. Very pleasing video, will send to all my friends!
I just ran across this randomly while looking at totally different videos while stuck at home with a torn muscle. It's Jan 20, 2018, and my birthday is tomorrow, exactly one year after you published this. And my best friend from high school who I haven't seen in maybe 34 years lives in Arvada. How splendid to find this graceful beauty on this day :) Many thanks.
Having tested this personally, I can tell you that in the mountains, about 5000 feet above sea level, I got some great pictures of PERFECT snow flakes. And a on few rare occasions I had some decent ones in the prairies as well. I am convinced it simply depends on the weather conditions and that the original snow flake pictures are unaltered and the result of a patient man.
Low moisture, low winds and no colder than -15'C and not warmer than -5'C should do the trick.
But I can see where the other two guys were in doubt, those flakes are exactly what you will find in a blizzard.
We got some snow falls where the accumulation of flakes measured up to 6cm squared and you could pick the entangled flakes out, they were MASSIVE. Since then I always have my photo camera with me.
ObsessionPC I think so too. Because I live in Manitoba and there are certain days when the snow would fall that you could see them land on your windshield in perfect shapes. Others just a blob of snowy shapelessness lol
Thank you great thoughts!
I looked closely at a single snowflake on a windowsill. It was a lot smaller than a grain of salt, had to use my hand magnifier, but I'll never forget it -- a Bentley!
Wet snow would produce a different type flake, a clumpier, bigger flake, than would very cold, dry snow....which, im betting, produces a much more defined flake.
I want to see snow before I die
For all my life, 89 years, I see snow fall 7 months out of year, every year this way.
You are one of those tropicals?
UNICORN 13 it’s beautiful! I miss the falling snow. I live in Australia now......no snow where I am! 😔
Brendan Stanford they just dont know 🤣🤣🤣
Same...I love in a tropical country
I Can't Leave My House... So..... It's Just a Dream
I was at college in Pitt there was one time where snow was falling and every single one was perfectly shaped. It was amazing. Usually you can't see them, but conditions were perfect and I could see each one on my car and my fingertips before it melted.
Superb explanation, loved it.
im waiting for actual footage, but all blah blah blah
Same :(
I was the 100th like!
Same
"Has thou entered into the treasures of the snow?"
Job 38:22
God states this simple truth thousands of years ago in one tiny little veres.
Something impossible for a human to have known as this video shows.
I had took a video of it the other day and tried to upload it on my channel, it was so fascinating, they're very tiny though but I managed to take a photo and video of it
a camera that takes pictures of snowflakes can save live... I understand that it helps determine what type of precipitation but still that sound funny
Clash of Gamez what really sounds funny is all of the grammar errors in your comment
I don't see any grammatical mistakes. Clash of Gamez's reads just fine.
+Sillysack Bottowski: another idiot.
I am begging You...
Nobody is an idiot here.
English is not a native language for everyone.
if someone notices a mistake - that's good.
It's good to inform - but without any invective.
Otherwise, the person who sees the error, and says it in the wrong way, can be... an idiot.
+Blondie SL also should have said sounds funny, but yeah I totally agree with you. People spend so much time nitpicking and arguing that forget that not everything is perfect. Hmmm what a world right?
2:57
You're welcome
+Berniebud 5:16 also
lol
"Has thou entered into the treasures of the snow?"
Job 38:22
God states this simple truth thousands of years ago in one tiny little veres.
Something impossible for a human to have known as this video shows.
when I was a kid I sa'll a perfect snow flake with my eyes
As have I. That moment of clarity from the fast moving snow to show that perfect 6 sided ice structure is an amazing moment.
me too...
I thought they really caught snowflakes falling with thier high speed camera : (
totally wanting to take a picture of snow now haha
Extremely beautiful
Ok
Yeah
stop following me
Why are you EVERYWHERE!
I literally searched for this video and you're in the comment section... Wth
Where I live we are too close to the sea level so we rarely get snow. In fact it has only snowed twice in my lifetime.
I remember as a child, the first time it showed, one had landed perfectly on a few single strands of my sister's fringe where it could be viewed easily. It was completely symmetrical and a rather big snowflake too. Such a gorgeous sight. Sadly it only lasted a mere few seconds before melting. We tried our best to find more but the rest were just mush.
KymeraAHP Lovely poem. Are you a writer?
Too close to sea level for snow? What?
An extremely interesting movie.
Fascinating information.
Thank You very much. :))
Who else has seen em or taken pics.Just takes some time,when you find one its soooo coool
Beautiful!
This was interesting and very informative.
WOW! This was so interesting.
Wow I feel glad to have seen a perfectly shaped snowflake as it landed in my hand
Wow it’s beautiful! I enjoyed the video. By the way at the end of the video where you wrote the credits I coudn’t find these background songs... Can you give links to their site?
4:47-4:59 sounded like one of those interdimensional cabe segment for the plumbus from Rick and Morty lmao 🤣
Great video about the history of snowflake photography
I wrote a paper on Bentley back in grade school. He was an awesome guy to write a paper on. I've recently thought about writing another on him and his findings. Btw, one of the problems he had was that he had to stay outside to photograph them, and he couldn't breathe when he took the photo or else the flake would melt. I think he died of pneumonia? I don't really remember.
Thank you for sharing
Science behind Snowflakes explained in simple terms and captured beautifully.
I like your voice. Very soothing. What a great video!
are you edit the video with powerpoint?
Magical
I am in awe for a snowflake ❄️
An army of snowflakes vs an army of fruitcakes.
Epic battle
Wow!! Thank you all!
Last weekend I was looking at used cars and I noticed on one black car hundreds of perfect snowflakes. So like any amazed person I took several pictures
The best way to capture them is a powerful flash at slow motion
What an amazing God we have!
Gustav Helmet....what a badass name
Ive seen snowflakes land on my glove shaped like snowflakes. I dont know what this guys research found, but I've seen snowflake that looks like snow flakes on the back of my glove . Maybe they land looking different , in different areas. I was told the water in the cloud freezes on a molecular level. It's never a liquid dropping, and thus the shape! As the water molecules freeze they building on to that original molecular shape....Thus the star shape of multiple configurations...that's what I was told a long time a go. Ive seen them many times when it's cold enough and there is no wind...it's magical under a streetlight at night. the fall so slowly ...it makes you thinks something momentous is about to happen. Quite Magical moments actually.
Where do needle flakes come from?
The weather is so strange here in north Italy that it snows in 8 degrees... but the snowflakes are so tiny.
One time i put my face next to the snow and i saw a real snowflake its beautiful👌
Felt like A walk in Berkeley
Smile @2:26 is sooo caucasian.just an observation i made.blacks in US And Africa on the other hand have a full grin with teeth and a hearty laughter.The latter is more welcoming.
Is it true that when a snow flake thaws and is then re frozen,it goes back to its original shape !?❄lovely music..
Amazing
God is really creative i mean just look at this snow flake🙋
Ankit Kumar not to mention the millions and millions of human born to this earth and not a single of them are exactly the same. Even with twins
Ankit Kumar dont go that far just look at u.
Gods creation is unfathomable.. Praise you Lord..
Amen.
Im not religious
Light Shines i like you......Praise be to God indeed.....i was just marvelling at those snowflakes and praised God
Light Shines Ameen
Lord , God , Gott , El , Creator , Prime Creator , Father .... all this name calling ....
He is .... or .... I AM ? What if we all are ?
Anyway .... these are just some letters and are not the same thing as the real comment I really wanted to post but can't because it's not some letters.
I knew that they were never perfect.
They are different in certain areas what ever the weather is.
I have the book of all his snowflake photography!
1.3 megapixels?
I don't know if it's the speaker or the music but this video just bummed me the hell out.
show me the dust at the start please...when does the type of dust effect the snow
Those imperfect flakes look like clumps of flakes
PWI is Science with a purpose. Bentley's work is both Art & Science with a purpose.
Hahahaaa cracking up. The conditions have to be very dry and if you handle the flakes at all they CAN and do melt or break. But the actual flakes in dry conditions? Gorgeous. Seen it with my own eyes. NOT the slushy stuff that melts on its way down
Wow amazing
1:17
Each perfectly symmetrical...
What about 892?
it probably melted
WOW!!!💫
Wah.... Its so beautiful.... Its like i want to touch it cause it looks like its soft.... And i didnt experience snow cause im from philippines and we dont have snow here 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Cool!
Спасибо.
Did that one Victorian dude just accuse that other Victorian dude of Photoshopping!?
nice...
janeth janeth
God made the snow so beautiful..
Yea
Correct: Math is God. There are no sentient gods.
correct reality-you haven't found God
how you know that
False, math is a human construct. Nature is God, for without it, there would be no us.
cool
Literally. lol :)
If there are no 2 snowflakes alike, there can be 3 or more alike. Right? Right? I knew it! With the crazy amount of snowflakes, how could they not ran out of designs? Lol
Yeah, I know there's no logic here.
NICE video
Ive seen a 6 sided crystal snowflake on my finger!!!
God said: " I am the whisper of the wind, the warmth of your sun, the incredible individuality and the extraordinary perfection of every snowflake", this He told me.
1.3 MP?
Mr Robot nothing but the best!
Hail science
Present day...4 years ago
This is a different kind of 'snowflake' than the ones we have today...
I watched this in online school
Oh bung cerita itu sangat bagus
سبحان الله
Does Frosty know about this?
we need the slow-mo guys...
"How to capture a snowflake" step 1: take it to starbucks
I really found a snowflake
Its beautful
The one I found was like 0.2 cm
He had a clear pattern
This was a seven minute long rant about how multiple snowflakes stuck together, do not look like the pictures of the single snowflakes. And also trying to sell me a PWI.
I love in india here never snowfall God i want to see a snowflake pls.....
The quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to capture a snowflake is to use a Starbuck's Cappuccino as bait.
Clearly shows 2 cameras
so we're all going to die. is that what you're telling me?
That's right girl's
no snowflake is 100% perfectly shaped
I'm cracking up not sure if this is a piss take or not...
1:26 My Chemical Romance
Video starts at 6:35
You’re welcome.
Prod. By A.I.R. I hate you xD
R u kidding me.
holy water freezes in the shape of the star of david, everytime. Every person has their own snowflake, their own frequency. This is proof of a higher frequency that monitors life. If water has a memory then it chooses, not only does it choose but millions of atoms working together shows intelligence. Heaven is a higher frequency on earth.
nice pic
do you even read what you wrote? it doesn't make sense
Nathan Reed
ido king12 it does actually
Nathan Reed Water knows, Amituofo 🙏
I am very disappointed that NSF would allow their name to be put on such a shoddy bit of work, and very saddened to think that some viewers are thinking they are learning science from this. Given all the comments here, I won't waste any more time enumerating the errors. As one meteorologist was known to quote: "Be very careful about what you put into that head, for you will never, ever get it back out again."
here you can see twitter users in their natural habitats
It's graupeling like cats and dogs out there....
WTF I SAW??? I must clean my house U-U