Geometry of Ice

Geometry of Ice

The strict linearity of the markings in the ice of a small pond caught my curiosity. It seemed to contradict the disordered leaves and branches of the adjacent forest. The fascinating thing is that this geometry, at an everyday scale, mirrors the order of atoms, which is a billion times smaller. Crystalline regularity links structure at the nanoscale with features at the human scale. There are many molecules that arrange themselves in a regular geometric order - that is what crystals are all about. Water molecules (H2O) are particularly good at this discipline and do it in a visually impressive way.