Icicles as crystallization phenomena
Abstract Icicles grow by dissipating the heat of fusion through the exterior liquid film. Their growth is therefore partly analogous to hailstone growth, and it is also partly analogous to stalactite growth. Like hailstones, they may grow as virtually solid ice or as a mixture of ice and water. Some aspects of the crystallinity, shape, and air bubble structure of icicles are described and discussed. Icicles are an interesting and instructive phenomenon for observation or for organized study.
This article analyzes the physical process of the formation of hail,and summarizes the observation method according to the cloud observation experience for many years.