Product Description

Back by popular demand. Snowflakes may be an everyday, common subject, but you've 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. The general public is interested in popular science subjects, weather, and amazing photography. 'The Snowflake' has elements of all these, and with its appealing combination of informative text and fascinating photography, there is no other book like it on the market. Author Kenneth Libbrecht, an executive officer of physics 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 colour micro-photography as invented by farmer Wilson Bentley.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #202250 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-05
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

Review
'You'll never look at the white stuff under your skis the same way after getting this close to the powder and the glory of the snowflake' 'dazzling, crystalline, breathtaking ... rich and readable' --L A Times

'dazzling, crystalline, breathtaking ... rich and readable' --Star Tribune

'An unexpected treasure ... Patricia Rasmussen's amazing photographs alone would be worth the asking price but its the text that truly make this book an enjoyable read' --Daily Oakland Press

Daily Oakland Press
'An unexpected treasure...'

Customer Reviews

A Stunning Work of Beauty and Scientific Knowledge
If you are like me, you've often watched snowflakes settle on your glove or car windshield. The delicacy and complexity of their designs have often provided a delight for me in otherwise unpleasant circumstances. Each time I do this, I wish I knew more about how snowflakes are formed, why they vary so much in appearance and what the most spectacular ones look like. The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty more than fulfilled all of those wishes for me.

It's hard to know what to praise more: Dr. Libbrecht's remarkable text on snowflake research or Ms. Rasmussen's remarkable images of the snowflakes themselves. I found that either aspect of the book would be more than enough reason to assign this book five stars and praise it to the skies.

In the text, you will learn about how we have learned what we know about snowflakes so far and what questions remain to be answered. I was fascinated to see the graphs that showed how temperature and humidity affect the shape of snowflakes so much over small changes in either factor. I was intrigued to learn how scientists have studied this fragile phenomenon (be sure to note how rabbit hair played a part). Scientists are now able to "grow" snowflakes in laboratories to help understand what happens in nature. I also enjoyed the statistical references that explained how it's likely that some water molecules that we each exhaled probably found their way into each snowflake we inspect.

The images are terrific both as examples of the text and as worthy objects for contemplation in their own right. I was especially impressed by the way that Ms. Rasmussen used computer enhancements to add color that made illustrative highlights easier to see. As a result, you will often feel like you are looking at a catalog for a fine jeweler rather than a science book.

The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty vastly transcends the usual coffee table genre of photography accompanied by some text. Instead, this is a book that could easily be used for science classes. Certainly, many more people would want to study science if it could always be made so interesting and beautiful. Despite the rigor in the text, those who are not interested in rigor will still find the text rewarding. You can simply stop when you think you've learned as much as interests you.

As I finished the book, I was reminded of how much more remarkable nature is than our own hand-made attempts to imitate or improve upon nature.