NEW METHOD FOR THE SIMULTANEOUS OBSERVATION OF SHAPE AND SIZE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF FALLING SNOW PARTICLES

Abstract

A simple method has been devised for taking shadow photographs of snow crystals, or of their melt water, without use of a lens. It permits study of the form, size, and mass characteristics at intervals of several minutes during a snowfall. As an application of the method, the coalescence of crystals was studied. From the size distribution of crystals, the probabilities of coalescence between two crystals of the same size and of differing sizes were determined during a snowfall consisting of plane dendritic crystals.