Ice Crystal Growth in Electric Fields

Abstract

The growth of ice crystals has been studied in order to determine the effects upon crystal growth of electric fields of magnitudes similar to those found in the atmosphere. Needle type ice crystals were found to increase their growth rate by more than thirty times in electric fields of over 4.6×104Vm^-1 while small hexagonal plate crystals were unaffected by the electric field. The observed phenomena were attributed to enhanced electric fields at the highly curved regions of the ice crystals.