Wilson Bentley Snowflakes

[Guest guest]

Wilson A. Bentley

The Snowflake Man

"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of

beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and

appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and

no one design was ever repeated., When a snowflake melted, that

design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without

leaving any record behind."

Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley 1925

>From the earliest memories of our childhood, many of us can remember

hearing the phrase "no two snowflakes are alike". This discovery was

made in the small rural town of Jericho, Vermont by Wilson A. Bentley

(1865-1931).

A self educated farmer, Bentley attracted world attention with his

pioneering work in the area of photomicrography, most notably his

extensive work with snow crystals (commonly known as snowflakes). By

adapting a microscope to a bellows camera, and years of trial and

error, he became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal

in 1885.

He would go on to capture more than 5000 snowflakes during his

lifetime, not finding any two alike. His snow crystal

photomicrographs were acquired by colleges and universities

throughout the world and he published many articles for magazines and

journals including, Scientific American and National Geographic.

In 1931 his book "Snow Crystals", containing more than 2400 snow

crystal images, was published by McGraw-Hill but has long been out of

print. A soft cover copy, identical in all respects, can be obtained

today from Dover Publications, Inc.. On December 23, 1931, Bentley

died at the family farmhouse in Jericho. Because of his wonderful

work with snow crystals, he became affectionately known as

"Snowflake" Bentley.

see more thumbnails at:

http://snowflakebentley.com/snowflakes.htm

Attachment: (application/octet-stream) wb.jpg [not stored]

Attachment: (image/gif) 00011.gif [not stored]

Attachment: (application/octet-stream) msnowflakes.jpg [not stored]

Attachment: (application/octet-stream) snowflk13.jpg [not stored]

Attachment: (application/octet-stream) Wilson Bentley Snowflakes.url [not stored]