Snow are able to grow to hundreds of micrometers or millimeters in size at the expense of the water droplets by the Wegener–Bergeron–Findeisen process. The corresponding depletion of water vapor causes the ice crystals to grow at the droplets' expense. These large crystals are an efficient source of precipitation, since they fall through the atmosphere due to their mass, and may collide and stick together in clusters, or aggregates. These aggregates are snowflakes, and are usually the type of ice particle that falls to the ground. Although the ice is clear, scattering of light by the crystal facets and hollows/imperfections mean
Amorphous ice this likely the most common structure for HO in the universe at large. Just as there are many different crystalline forms of ice (currently 17+ known), there are also different forms of amorphous ice, distinguished principally by their densities. The production of amorphous ice hinges on the fast rate of cooling. Liquid water must be cooled to its glass transition temperature (about 136 K or −137 °C) in milliseconds to prevent the spontaneous nucleation of crystals. This is analogous to the production of ice cream from heterogeneous ingredients, which must also be frozen quickly to prevent the growth of crystals