The world is full of fascinating puzzles and unsolved mysteries. Sometimes even the simplest phenomena can be surprisingly hard to explain. Fortunately, science is here to help – thanks to the “Ask a Scientist” initiative, you can get answers to any question that sparks your curiosity, no matter the field!
“Ask a Scientist” is a project that gives you the chance to get answers to your questions about science. Nearly 10,000 researchers from universities of the Academic Consortium – Katowice City of Science are taking part. Submit your question using the online form, and we’ll pass it on to a selected expert who will share their knowledge on the topic.
We publish the questions and responses from our scientists on the project website. Your curiosity and creativity in asking questions inspired us to create a series of short videos featuring experts from the University of Silesia, in which we explore the most intriguing topics you’ve raised!
So how does science explain the fact that snow is white?
This question was answered by Bernadeta Jasiok, PhD, Eng. from the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Silesia. We encourage you to read her explanation below!
Why is snow white?
Bernadeta Jasiok, PhD, Eng: Snow is actually water in its solid state, but not in a uniform form. It’s made up of countless ice crystals with very diverse, irregular shapes. Sunlight, or white light, is a mixture of all the colors of visible light.
Each ice crystal reflects and refracts the light that hits it in different directions. Because snow is made of millions of such crystals, the light becomes scattered many times. As a result, no single color is absorbed more than the others, which makes snow appear white to us.
If snow were composed of large, uniform pieces of ice, it would be more transparent, just like an icicle. But when snow accumulates in large amounts, it reflects so much light that it becomes intensely white. Under certain conditions, snow can appear blue (when light penetrates deeper and shorter wavelengths scatter) or even pink, for example due to the presence of algae.
The 9th Silesian Science Festival Katowice is coming soon!
The 9th Silesian Science Festival Katowice is just around the corner! It will take place from 6 to 8 December at the International Congress Centre in Katowice. This year’s edition’s theme is “Experiment!” – an invitation to ask bold questions about the world around us and seek creative, unconventional answers through experimentation.
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