Snowflakes and Crystallography
People in northern latitudes are usually well acquainted with snow, whether the Rocky Mountains, Washington, Michigan, New York, Alberta, Siberia, or wherever. We've seen it coming down hard and heavy, with heaps of it making things downright unsafe to head out to work, especially late in January. Turn this upside down, and areas in the southern hemisphere get snow, just ask the penguins and people in some parts of Australia, for instance (at the right time of year). To see actual crystals is something we may not stop to ponder, but individual snow flakes are quite a wonder. Image credit: FreeImages / "Lufthansa Snowflakes 1 / Harpreet Padam Studying individual snowflakes led to the field of crystallography. Scientists are puzzled as to why water molecules are programmed to have six sides, and why there are over eighty basic types of snow crystals. What does this have to do with evolution? In a way, not a whole lot, because there is no organized complexity. But an evolu