so, prove it….. i will bet that there was a snowflake that fell on a mountaintop in Nepal thirty years ago that is identical to one that fell behind applebee’s in Cedar Rapids, Iowa two years ago…or was that three years ago?
since we are talking trillions upon trillions of snowflakes—doesn’t the ‘monkeys with typewriters’ thing apply here?
Since the shape of the snowflake is so sensitive (as a chaotic system) to the conditions of the atmosphere it is falling through, and since no two flakes take the same path–heck, no two arms of a given flake take precisely the same path–it is true enough that, to sufficiently close description of the shape, no two snowflakes are precisely alike.
But, some may be close enough “for all practical purposes”…
ladywolf17 over 14 years ago
Yes but only in certain areas.
ejcapulet over 14 years ago
I did once read that it was impossible for no two snowflakes to be alike - it’s impossible for a person to find two alike.
Nighthawks Premium Member over 14 years ago
so, prove it….. i will bet that there was a snowflake that fell on a mountaintop in Nepal thirty years ago that is identical to one that fell behind applebee’s in Cedar Rapids, Iowa two years ago…or was that three years ago? since we are talking trillions upon trillions of snowflakes—doesn’t the ‘monkeys with typewriters’ thing apply here?
fredbuhl over 14 years ago
Yes, but how many monkeys does it take to make a snowman?
bmonk over 14 years ago
Since the shape of the snowflake is so sensitive (as a chaotic system) to the conditions of the atmosphere it is falling through, and since no two flakes take the same path–heck, no two arms of a given flake take precisely the same path–it is true enough that, to sufficiently close description of the shape, no two snowflakes are precisely alike.
But, some may be close enough “for all practical purposes”…
yyyguy over 14 years ago
all different or not all different won’t matter when they’re packed together into a nice round ball for flinging at someone or something!
bald over 14 years ago
well i for one wouldn’t be mad if we didn’t get any more snow flakes here this winter..