Snowflakes.
These intricate, whimsical crystals are a staple of magical wintry scenes, but how big can they really get? Well, according to the Guinness World Record keepers, the “ largest snowflake ” ever recorded was a whopping 15 inches in diameter. It was spotted near Missoula, Montana in 1887. But Kenneth Libbrecht , a physicist at Caltech, has long been skeptical of that record. So he set out to find what makes a snowflake a snowflake and whether that 1887 record is scientifically possible. You can read more about what he discovered here .
Want to share the snowflakes you’ve spotted this winter? Email us a photo at shortwave@npr.org .
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This episode was produced by Chloee Weiner. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Nell Greenfieldboyce. The audio engineer was Valentina Rodriguez.
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