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210
The Fairy-Land of Science
·
Arabella B. Buckley
80
Now
picture
to
yourselves
that
all
the
particles
of
those
substances
which
form
crystals
have
poles
like
our
magnets,
then
you
can
imagine
that
when
the
heat
which
held
them
apart
is
withdrawn
and
the
particles
come
very
near
together,
they
will
arrange
themselves
according
to
the
attraction
of
their
poles
and
so
build
up
regular
and
beautiful
patterns.
So,
if
we
could
travel
up
to
the
clouds
where
this
fairy
power
of
crystallization
is
at
work,
we
should
find
the
particles
of
water-vapour
in
a
freezing
atmosphere
being
built
up
into
minute
solid
crystals
of
snow.
If
you
go
out
after
a
snow-shower
and
search
carefully,
you
will
see
that
the
snow-flakes
are
not
mere
lumps
of
frozen
water,
but
beautiful
six-pointed
crystal
stars,
so
white
and
pure
that
when
we
want
to
speak
of
anything
being
spotlessly
white,
you
say
that
it
is
"white
as
snow."
Some
of
these
crystals
are
simply
flat
slabs
with
six
sides,
others
are
stars
with
six
rods
or
spikes
springing
from
the
centre,
others
with
six
spikes
each
formed
like
a
delicate
fern.
No
less
than
a
thousand
different
forms
of
delicate
crystals
have
been
found
among
snowflakes,
but
though
there
is
such
a
great
variety,
yet
they
are
all
built
on
the
six-sided
and
six-pointed
plan,
and
are
all
rendered
dazzlingly
white
by
the
reflection
of
the
light
from
the
faces
of
the
crystals
and
the
tiny
air-bubbles
built
up
within
them.
This,
you
see,
is
why,
when
the
snow
melts,
you
have
only
a
little
dirty
water
in
your
hand;
the
crystals
are
gone
and
there
are
no
more
air-bubbles
held
prisoners
to
act
as
looking-glasses
to
the
light.
Hoar-frost
is
also
made
up
of
tiny
water-crystals,
and
is
nothing
more
than
frozen
dew
hanging
on
the
blades
of
grass
and
from
the
trees.
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