Capturing Snowflakes: Winter's Frozen Artistry

 
The snow may seem unvaried to the naked eye, but the microscope reveals an amazing menagerie of beautiful crystalline forms. Building on the pioneering work of Wilson Bentley (1865-1931), Libbrecht has developed techniques for capturing images of snow crystals in unprecedented detail. While wondering at the hundreds of exquisite snowflake portraits, find:
 

• The science behind snowflakes, including how they form on a molecular level and the complex process that guarantees each one’s uniqueness
• Field notes from Libbrecht’s photographic expeditions to the frozen north
• The taxonomy of snowflakes and examples of each type: simple plates and prisms, columns and needles, capped columns, sectored plates, stellar plates, stellar dendrites, triangular crystals, double plates, split plates, split stars, and even rare twelve-branched snowflakes
• Quotations about the wonder of snowflakes and nature from Aristotle, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and more

This book is a breathtaking look at the works of art that melt in an instant.