Snowball

When and how

When forming a snowball by packing, the pressure exerted by the hands on the snow is a determinant for the final result. Reduced pressure leads to a light and soft snowball. Compacting humid or "packing" snow by applying a high pressure produces a harder snowball, sometimes called an ice ball, which can injure an opponent during a snowball fight.

Temperature is important for snowball formation. It is hard to make a good snowball if the snow is too cold. In addition, snowballs are difficult to form with dry powdery snow. In temperatures below 0 °C, there is little free water in the snow, which leads to crumbly snowballs. At 0 °C or above, melted water in the snow results in a better cohesion. Above a certain temperature, however, the snowball becomes slush, which lacks mechanical strength and no longer sticks together.{{Cite book | author = Morag Challenor | chapter = No-Ball Snow | page = 157 | title = Does Anything Eat Wasps?: And 101 Other Unsettling, Witty Answers to Questions You Never Thought You Wanted to Ask

Natural snowballs

Main article: Snow roller

Under certain conditions, natural snowballs may form as a result of wind, without human intervention. These conditions are:

• The ground must have a top layer of ice. This will prevent the snowball from sticking to the ground.
• That ice must have some wet and loose snow that is near its melting point.
• The wind must be strong enough to push the snowballs, but not too strong.

In Antarctica, small windblown frost balls form through a different process that relies on electrostatic attraction; these wind-rolled frost balls are known as yukimarimo.

Under other rare circumstances, in coastal and river areas, wave action on ice and snow may create beach snowballs or ball ice. File:Jää on kulmunud pallideks (Looduse veidrused). 05.jpg | Ball ice File:Yukimarimo_south_pole_dawn_2009.jpg | Yukimarimo File:Snow roller (30 January 2014) (Newark, Ohio, USA) 53 (46107487244).jpg | Wind-rolled snowball File:Spongy ice ball Lake Street.jpg | Beach snowball showing signs of denivation

Snow lanterns

Main article: Snow lantern

A snow lantern is a decorative structure made from snowballs, typically shaped into a hollow cone. It is commonly used as a housing for a light source, such as a candle or a Japanese stone garden lantern known as Yukimi Gata. Snow lanterns are part of winter traditions in countries such as Sweden, Finland, and Norway, where they are created and lit during the Christmas season. These structures illuminate the winter landscape and are associated with festive celebrations in snowy regions.

Literary allusion

A snowball that turns into a child is a protagonist in a 1969 children's fantasy novel, The Snowball, by Barbara Sleigh.

Gallery

References

References

1. Windham. "Windham {{!}} Y Gaseg Eira".
2. (2014). "Granulation of Snow: Experiments and Discrete Element Modeling".
3. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/6950788/Snow-stories-rare-self-rolling-snow-balls-found-in-UK.html Rare self-rolling giant snow balls found in UK] {{webarchive. link. (2010-01-12 , The Telegraph, January 8, 2010)
4. (8 November 2016). "Thousands of Snowballs on This Siberian Beach Are Straight From a Fairy Tale". [[Vice Media]].
5. link. (17 October 2020)