Science, Nature and Tech

Winter Wonderings – Are Snowflakes Really All Different?

 

It’s a common belief that no two snowflakes are the same, and in a way this is true. No snowflake can ever be completely identical to another, because when you get down to the molecular level they will have slightly different kinds of water molecules, different electrons and different traces of other materials such as specks of dust.

However, if we’re talking only about the appearance and shape of a snowflake, then yes it is possible that some will have duplicates. Snow crystals can vary from fairly simple, hexagonal structures to the more complex and delicate shapes that we commonly think of as snowflakes.

The simple flakes have far fewer molecules than their larger cousins and so it’s entirely possible that you could find two that appeared identical when viewed through a microscope. The more complex structures, however, can have more than a hundred different features and each feature can form in a number of different ways. This makes it highly unlikely that you would ever find two large snowflakes that looked the same – but you could have fun trying!

For a more detailed explanation of the science behind the forming of snowflakes, check out this video

 

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Sports

Our ContiReporter Ailsa – Video Report from U17 Championship

 

Check out our ContiReporter’s fantastic video report from the Women’s U17 Championship, and tomorrow you can read her final report from the last day of her trip. 

If you missed part one and two, you can catch up now!

Ailsa went to the Women’s U17 Championship thanks to the kind support of Continental UK.  

 

 

 

 

 

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Art & History, Language & Literature

What is a Malapropism?

You may not have had the term ‘malapropism’, but I am sure you know what a malapropism is when you hear it!  It is when you get one word mixed up for another and as a result change the meaning of a sentence completely.  

For example you might mean to say to your friend, “I’m bored, let’s go watch telly”, but what you actually say is, “I’m bored, let’s go eat telly”. 🙂 

What is a malapropism, and why does it have such a funny name?

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