Hoarfrost​—Who Is Behind Its Artistry?

WHEN air that is saturated with water vapor cools in the evening, it can no longer hold all the water. The excess precipitates out as dew. But when the air temperature drops below freezing, the excess water sublimates​—that is, it skips the liquid dew stage and is deposited as ice. The frost crystals so formed are platelike and resemble snow crystals. Deposited on windowpanes of houses, they are admired for their striking geometrical designs and lacy patterns. Very artistic.

But there is another more dramatic form of frost crystals known as hoarfrost. They are six-​sided hollow spears of ice projecting upward, and when clustered together in outdoor settings, they make beautiful displays and are appropriately called ice flowers. Early one sunny morning in Yosemite National Park, California, these ice flowers were found growing atop rocks in the waters of the Merced River that flows through Yosemite Valley. Also very artistic, and produced by the physical laws established by the Creator of the universe. “You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.”​—Revelation 4:11.