Frost

With the onset of winters, frost starts to set in. Every night, the temperature goes below zero and on the following mornings, nature shows itself in a wonderful way.

When the air is still moist, the winter chill freezes the dew. Initially, it appears as frozen dew drops or tiny bluish-white crystals. As the temperature further falls and humidity levels increase, the frost tends to form on all surfaces. The crystals take up interesting forms. These ice crystals have intricate fractal patterns.

These ice crystals form directly from the humid air. The water vapor turns to ice on these surfaces without going through the liquid state. Science graduates call it ‘desublimation of water vapor from air’ when it is below frost point. We call it nature’s magic!

Weeds covered in frost — *Vegetation covered in frost. As soon as the warm sun hits the frost-covered areas, the crystals shimmer and then disappear*

For kids, these are the doings of Jack Frost. He visits us during the winter nights and turns everything into a crystal wonderland. Grass, leaves, twigs and even the glass panes at times get covered with them. When the sun rays hit these ice crystals, they glitter like diamonds and soon disappear. Sun loves to undo the works of Jack Frost.

Frost ice crystals - close up — *Frost ice crystals – close up*

Observing these frost ice crystals is quite interesting. From hexagonal shapes to some very detailed patterns can be seen in these. If you are even the least bit interested in photography, try your hand at some close focusing or macro photography. If you are not, don’t despair, just carry along a magnifying glass and enjoy the various patterns these ice crystals can come up with.

Frosted Leaves — *In shaded areas, the frost doesn’t disappear even in the day time. With passing time, more and more crystals form on the already existing one, covering the whole of the surfaces*

A quick walk around the garden, early in the morning, and already it is time for breakfast. What could be better than a hot cup of chocolate inside the warm cottage after a walk in the frosted wonderland?

The challenge for us is to protect young plants. The people in the neighborhood are very good at this. Talk to them and you’ll find the information more useful then what one can find even after searching hundreds of forums.