Dendritic Ice Formation — Window Frost Crystal Study
90.58 €
Window frost crystals photographed at 4:1 macro — the ice dendrites growing from a nucleation point on the glass surface in perfect hexagonal symmetry, each branch subdivision showing the same 60-degree branching angle.
Description
Window frost — ice crystals that form on cold glass surfaces from atmospheric water vapour — exhibits the same hexagonal symmetry as snowflakes, the crystal structure of ice (Ice Ih, hexagonal) determining a 60-degree branching angle that propagates through all scales of the dendritic growth from millimetres to centimetres. This image was made at 4:1 reproduction on a naturally frosted window pane, the ice photographed in diffuse north light that provides even illumination without specular reflection from the crystal surfaces. The crystal shown grew from a single nucleation point — a dust particle on the glass surface — with primary branches extending at 60-degree intervals, secondary branches at 60 degrees from the primaries, and tertiary branches at 60 degrees from the secondaries. The self-similar fractal structure of the ice dendrite is fully legible from the primary branches through to the finest resolvable sub-divisions.
