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ERIC Number: EJ1165789
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jan
Pages: 2
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
Unexpected Patterns in Snow and Dirt
Ackerson, Bruce J.
Physics Teacher, v56 n1 p10-11 Jan 2018
For more than 30 years, Albert A. Bartlett published "Thermal patterns in the snow" in this journal. These are patterns produced by heat sources underneath the snow. Bartlett's articles encouraged me to pay attention to patterns in snow and to understanding them. At winter's end the last snow becomes dirty and is heaped into piles. This snow comes from the final clearing of sidewalks and driveways. The patterns observed in these piles defied my intuition. This melting snow develops edges where dirt accumulates, in contrast to ice cubes, which lose sharp edges and become more spherical upon melting. Furthermore, dirt absorbs more radiation than snow and yet does not melt and round the sharp edges of snow, where dirt accumulates.
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://aapt.scitation.org/journal/pte
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A