Ice crystals. Polarised light micrograph of a thin sheet of ice. The ice appears to have many colours within it. These are birefringence patterns due

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Ice crystals. Polarised light micrograph of a thin sheet of ice. The ice appears to have many colours within it. These are birefringence patterns due to different wavelengths of plane polarised light being rotated by different amounts. These colours indicate strong internal tensions in the ice, a result of the outer layers of ice freezing before the inner regions and therefore introducing stress into the crystal structure. Magnification: unknown.

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Size: 4753px × 3694px
Photo credit: © ADRIENNE HART-DAVIS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: birefringence, climate, cold, crystal, frozen, ice, light, lm, meteorology, micrograph, pattern, photopolarimetry, polar., stress, weather, winter