April4R - a photo on Flickriver

April4R

            Finally a capped column! The single reason I designed and build my “Snowflake-cam” was to capture these guys.  This winter has coughed up only a minimal amount of snow (not complaining), and of that none of it contained any capped columns; or to be more precise, none of them wanted to land in my yard. 

So why a capped column? An interesting property of snow is that the crystals are birefringent; they can separate light into different paths, each path a different polarization (depending on how you look at them).  Unfortunately when we think of snow we think of dendrites, the big pointy flat ones, the ones we use to cut out of paper and plaster the windows with in 3rd grade.  Those flakes present a very pretty face but sadly that face is the “optical axis”, that’s the one path that doesn’t disturb light propagating directly through it.  If you could wrangle one of those flakes into a position where you could look at it edge on it would be very colorful if viewed between two polarizing filters, 90 degrees to one another. Blah, blah, blah, anyways there are some flakes; capped columns for instance, that grow up the optical axis.  Imagine a large stack of regular snowflakes stacked up like pancakes and for good measure you weld on bigger ones at the end.  If you were to look down on one, it would look pretty much like a simple 6 sided bland snowflake.  However these guys usually tip over and land on their side where they present a beautiful photographic opportunity if you have a couple of polarizing filters.  
This image is also in3D (cross-eye method)

Taken on: April 5, 2016

Tags:

Snow

icd

column

macro

diy

camera

homemade

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cross-polarized

winter

stereo

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Groups appears in: • Snow - The Main Subject • EXTREME CLOSEUP more » • Stereophotography • Winter Wonderland • Closer and Closer Macro Photography - • Macro Madness • Super Macro • Creative Photography • Macro Photography • Science Nerd Depot • Flickr Nature • FlickrToday (only 1 pic per day) • Snowflakes R Us • 3-D CrossView Stereo Photos • Homemade Lens • The Nature Conservancy • *DIY Photography Equipment • Macros Group • The Art of Science • Macro in the Snow • ***winter - wonderland*** • Ice Photography • Science in pictures • **Explore Unexplored!** (10 Favs & No Explored) • Winter Flickr • Awesome Snowflakes • nature's composition • Macro & Nature Fotos *Please comment on other's foto (s)! • Borderline Creative Movement • ★ Macro - Up Close and Personal ★ • National Geographic | World Wide • Wonders of Winter • Macro 3D • Visuals Unlimited - Science & Nature Images • DIY- Inexpensive Photography • Nature as Abstract Artist • Best of Winter Wonderland • Macro Images for Scientists « less

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