By March, most people who live in the north are tired of snow. But the next time you get dumped on, think about the marvels God has stored up on one flake!
We don’t have to search very far these days to find evidence for design. Take, for example, the snowflake. “One of the most beautiful wonders of nature God has given us is the amazing variety of shapes of snow crystals that fall from the sky on a cold winter’s night.”* In 1610 Johanas Kepler published his extensive study of snowflakes, undertaken to determine why they each formed with six sides. He had no microscope or other equipment but did ground-breaking work that later proved fundamental to the field of crystallography. However, even today, with all the high-tech equipment available, scientists who have studied snowflakes still do not know why they freeze in this predictable pattern.
Did you know that the shape of a snowflake depends, in part, on the temperature at which it froze? “For example, snow crystals will grow lengthwise to form long, thin needles and columns when the temperature is between about -3°C and -8°C. When the temperature is between about -8°C and -25°C, plate-like crystals will form.”* Dr. Vardiman goes on in the article to describe other shapes formed by supercooled water. However, though shapes vary, each one is six-sided.
What is the probability that two of these six-sided beauties have ever been identical? If a snowflake has 100 different features, there are approximately 10158 (that’s 10 with 158 zeros) unique ways to arrange them. (The total number of atoms in the universe is estimated to be 1080.) Thus, the likelihood of two snowflakes being identical is at least 1 in 10158, or very, very small!
Infinite variety with predictable order; simplicity with complexity- sounds like the same principle used to make us, doesn’t it? The next time you have to shovel a few million of these miniature mysteries, take a moment to marvel at God’s creative genius!
*From Impact article for December entitled, “Microscopic Masterpieces: Discovering Design in Snow Crystals” by Larry Vardiman, Ph.D. (ICR.org)
Pictures are also available at snowcrystals.com
