That's a Wrap

This has been my first experience with being a blogger as opposed to a blog reader. I love to read other people’s blogs and I love to write, so it is only a natural progression that I kind of love blogging. I found it to be very easy and I liked how it allowed a creative outlet for me. I was excited to look for new ideas and to get to present them for my audience. I looked for topics that were a little off the beaten path with different weather phenomena. My own boys who are in the sixth grade could not wait to see what my blogs were about. They offered lots of input on making them more exciting, but I could not figure out how to incorporate Mine Craft into my blogs. Given time, I am sure I will.

My future students and their parents can benefit from being exposed to blogging. We can keep connected and communicate openly. I feel students may find blogging to be almost therapeutic in a way. They can have an anonymous blog or give their opinion to the world under their real name. I do not think my students will be limited with their ability to blog, unless it is a parent that would not allow it. There are several kinds of internet services available in the area and all the libraries have internet and computers available to use free of charge during business hours.

I think a blogging environment would be a useful tool to spark imaginations and conversations with a class. If the blog coincided with a particular unit one was working on, students might like to learn something outside of what the text offered. A science experiment or upcoming weather event could be part of a blog to complement a lesson taught. A teacher might be able to use it for extra credit or to find if there is understanding of what is being taught in the classroom. I could post frequently asked questions about assignments or refreshers on how to do a particular math assignment. Students could create their own blogs on things that are important to them like cheer-leading, chess club, sports, or band for example. I really feel the possibilities are endless for blogging. 

"Frozen": Do you want to learn about frost and not build a snowman?

The sunrise of each new day brings such wonder and awe. I awoke to a seascape of a white crystalline substance coating everything in sight. Trees were transformed into giant cotton candy looking cones. Fences were coated ever so carefully in this white bliss. Jack Frost had paid a visit and left behind what we call hoar frost. This is only one of a few frost formations that appear when conditions are just right.

Figure 1: Hoar frost on trees retrieved from http://nz-landscapes.co.nz/photos/Hoar-Frost-Ophir.jpg

            Frost crystals grow from water vapor in the air, but unlike snow crystals that form high in the clouds on suspended particles of dust, frost crystals form near the ground. They grow on window panes, blades of grass, fences, tree branches, or just about any other solid surface. Fog or saturated air contributes to frost formation. Frost forms when an outside surface cools past the dew point. The dew point is the point where the air gets so cold, the water vapor in the atmosphere turns into liquid. This liquid freezes. If it gets cold enough, little bits of ice, or frost, form. The ice is arranged in the form of ice crystals. The warmth of the rising sun ends frost’s stunning displays.

Figure 2: Rime frost retrieved from http://photo.accuweather.com/photogallery/2011/12/500/a103bbe6a.jpg

            The hoar frost, also called radiation frost, I saw this morning is formed from layers of tiny ice crystals and is uniform on everything it covers. It looks very feathery and it is the same kind of frost that forms in refrigerators and freezers.

Video 1: Frost formations retrieved from http://youtu.be/IH42lN7y-pI

Ground frost is the formation of ice on the ground. Grass, concrete, or other road surfaces get covered in frost because their surfaces have a temperature below the freezing point of water and they have cooled quicker than the surrounding air. Ground frost can occur without air frost. Air frost is defined as having air temperatures below the freezing point of water, but at a height of at least one meter above ground.

Figure 3: Ground frost retrieved from http://beautyharmonylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/winter-lawn.png

            Another kind of frost many of us have seen is window frost. It forms when a glass window is exposed to cold air outside and moist air inside. Cold climates with heated homes form this type of frost and it is much more common on single paned glass. Elaborate patterns of frost grow on the panes. Scratches, soap residue, or imperfections in the glass change the way the crystals grow. They can resemble leaves, branches or feathers. Take a closer look at the design of the next frost formation you notice on your on windows.,

Figure 4: Window frost retrieved from http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/103549/350wm/C0039323-Window_Frost-SPL.jpg

            Rime is another type of frost. This frost is wind driven and is from super cooled water droplets. Rime has the appearance of spikes. There are frost formations called variously frost flowers, ice flowers, ice ribbons, or frost swirls. We for will call them frost swirls for ease. The swirls form at the base of plants from water that seeps from the plant stem. When the water hits the cold air it freezes. As more water is extruded the swirls are created.

There are some phone apps available at not cost to install on your own phone if you would like to follow temperature and humidity; remember from above that frost forms when there is the right elements of cold temperatures and water vapor in the air. The following is an experiment we will be completing in class. I have included the instructions if you would like to share it with your parents or siblings. See you in class.

Figure 5: Frost flower retrieved from http://i2.wp.com/blazepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/47ddca19e4f5eac84263c00a82b6b3d7_650x.jpg?resize=650%2C442

MAKE DEW & FROST

Taken from http://www.weatherwizkids.com/experiments-frost.htm

MATERIALS:

• 2 tin cans without a lid (condensed soup cans work well, but peel the labels off)
• rock salt or table salt
• crushed ice

PROCESS:

In one tin can put a mixture of crushed ice about half full and about 4 tablespoons of salt.

Mix it well for about 30 seconds and then let sit.

In the other can put only crushed ice and cool tap water. Fill the can about half way full of ice and then put just enough tap water in the can to cover the ice.

Note the frost forming on the outside of the can with the ice and salt mixture. Compare this with the liquid moisture on the outside of the can which contains ice only.

EXPLANATION:

Why does this happen? The salt wants to absorb water to make a salt solution. To do that, the salt has to melt the ice into water. The heat required to melt the ice comes from the ice itself. The strange effect is caused by the chemical reaction between the salt and the ice. Strange as it seems, melting the ice actually makes the mixture cooler. The salt water mixture inside the can gets below freezing, so the moisture from the air that collects on the outside of the can will freeze. This is why frost forms!

On the other can, dew forms because the mixture of the melting ice and water is just at freezing and the temperature outside the can is warmer causing the dew to form.

           

Search for these weather apps for your phone if you would like to learn more: Winter Wakeup, Powder Alert, Road Trip Weather, plus many more.

If you would like to further discuss different frost phenomena or ask questions about frost formations comment below or follow me on twitter at @pwheeler20. 

 References:

Frost Flowers. Retrieved February 19, 2015 from http://www.thedos.org/pics/frosts/index.html

National Geographic Education. Frost. Retrieved February 19, 2015 from http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/frost/?ar_a=1

Snow Crystals.Com: Guide to Frost:  Different types of ice structures that form on the ground. Retrieved February 19, 2015 from http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/frost/frost.htm

Types of Frost. Retrieved February 19, 2015 from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/frost/types-of-frost

Weather Whiz Kids. How to Make Dew and Frost. Retrieved February 19, 2015 from http://www.weatherwizkids.com/experiments-frost.htm

Figure references:

Figure 1: Hoar frost on trees retrieved from http://nz-landscapes.co.nz/photos/Hoar-Frost-Ophir.jpg

Figure 2: Rime frost retrieved from http://photo.accuweather.com/photogallery/2011/12/500/a103bbe6a.jpg

Video 1: Frost formations retrieved from http://youtu.be/IH42lN7y-pI

Figure 3: Ground frost retrieved from http://beautyharmonylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/winter-lawn.png

Figure 4: Window frost retrieved from http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/103549/350wm/C0039323-Window_Frost-SPL.jpg

Figure 5: Frost flower retrieved from http://i2.wp.com/blazepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/47ddca19e4f5eac84263c00a82b6b3d7_650x.jpg?resize=650%2C442

Sunny Side Up

Last week’s temperatures left me shivering. As ate my breakfast I looked out my window and one of nature’s phenomena stared me right back in the face. An amazing sun dog appeared with this frigid morning sunrise. That got me thinking about all the different amazing phenomena the sun gives viewers like me and you. So here go this week’s sun peculiarities.

Sundogs Photo by Wayne Specht 

A sundog is one of the more common anomalies that we often see that happens when the sun and the atmosphere, or the moisture in it, join together to give us a spectacular view. Sundogs are patches of light that appear on each side of the sun. The scientific name for a sundog is parhelion, which means beside the sun. These patches of light follow the sun like a dog follows its master; hence the name. 

Sundogs from http://i.imgur.com/VAmTWZ8.jpg

Sundogs require several things to make their appearance. First, the sun must be low on the horizon for the best viewing. Next, a twenty-two degree distance from the sun is where the sundogs will appear. Hexagonal ice crystals in high and cold cirrus clouds, or very cold weather, is the next ingredient to get these guys out in the sky. The ice crystals act as prisms. They sink in the air and become vertically aligned with the sun, and then the refracted light becomes the sundogs we see. Folklore states that sundogs are an accurate forecast for precipitation. No matter what they predict, they are an amazing sight.

Sun Halo from http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140302155740-4738cdad-580x387.jpg

A similar event to the sundog is the sun halo. It is, as stated, a halo that surrounds the sun. The halo surrounds the sun at twenty-two degrees, the same degree as the sundogs. This ring around the sun is considered to be a fairly rare happening and ice crystals are the culprits for the halo to appear. People, at times, thought a sun halo was a signal that the world was coming to an end. It too can be a predictor of precipitation.

Sun Pillar from http://images.summitpost.org/original/252408.jpg

A photometer, or sun pillar, is a luminous phenomenon that comes about by the refraction, reflection, diffraction, or interference of light from the sun. Usually seen at sunrise or sunset, the glittery and sometimes blinding white pillars extend to about twenty degrees above the sun and typically end in a point. If a pillar appears high in the sky the brightness is often subdued. Sun pillars also appear because of the ice crystals that are present in the air. A sun pillar can be present even when the sun is below the horizon. These pillars have been confused with UFO’s.

Sun Pillar from http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/254/e/c/ecef1cef57a885778edf49746727bdfc-d3c7ti2.jpg

Some other odd sun occurrences include the midnight sun phenomenon that happens towards our poles, the two sun optical illusion, and the well-known solar eclipse. There are many websites that offer a plethora of information, but beware because many offer bogus claims. Any way you look at it, each day the sun comes up, sun dogs or not, we are offered a new day and a new opportunity for learning. As I watch the sun rise, I will take my eggs the usual way; sunny-side-up.

 References:

Meteorological Phenomena: Sun Pillars. Retrieved February 6, 2015 from http://community.luckyshops.com/post/meteorological-phenomena-sun-pillars

Sun Halos: What Causes a Sun Halo? What Does This Rare Phenomenon Mean? Retrieved February 6, 2015 from http://weather.thefuntimesguide.com/2014/05/sun-halo.php

Zimmer, K. A., 2013. Sundogs: Spots of Color Beside the Sun. Live Science. Retrieved February 6, 2015 from http://www.livescience.com/26402-sundogs.html

If you like How Cool Is That?, then join me next time when we visit Jack Frost, or we track down who ever is to blame for my windows being frosted over.

If you would like to further discuss different sun phenomena or debate what is real or not real on the internet about sun oddities comment below or follow me on twitter at @pwheeler20.