These objects seems to vary from shapeless blob to chaotic scribble — but they are in fact short-lived structures that have been captured in fine 3D detail for the first time. Can you work out what they are?
They are snowflakes. The images were captured by researchers at the University of Utah, who used a pretty cool setup of three high-speed cameras triggered by infrared sensors to shoot the objects every 1/25000 of a second.
Researchers at the University of Utah have developed the Multi Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC), which uses three high-speed cameras triggered by infrared sensors to shoot flakes as they float to the ground, with exposures as quick as 1/25000 of a second. The device also measures the flakes’ fall speed, all without touching them, which would disturb the measurements.
While the images are pretty, their accuracy could be useful too, allowing meteorologists to create more accurate model of winter storms. [