On frosty days, stunning ice patterns appear on the windows in the form of extraordinary stars, fancy curls, fabulous trees and flowers. In order for ice gardens to bloom on the windows, it is necessary that the air in the room be humid and the temperature outside the window be below zero.
Why do frosty patterns appear on the window?
Everyone remembers the parable that Santa Claus draws frosty patterns on the window. He quietly creeps up to the window at night and paints unique frosty pictures on it with a thin icy brush. In fact, everything is much more prosaic. If the air in the room is humid, and the temperature outside is zero degrees Celsius or lower, then excess moisture condenses on the cold surface of the glass. Here the water vapor cools and changes from a vapor to a solid state, forming thin crystals.How ice crystals form
Any glass that looks perfect has microscopic nicks and scratches. The moisture that settles on the surface of the glass crystallizes first of all on these tiny defects, and only then more and more cling to the first crystals, forming patterns. Sometimes, for the appearance of icy patterns, all it takes is dust particles that litter the surface of the glass, or stains that remain after washing the windows. Drafts and air currents also contribute to the appearance of patterns. According to the method of formation, frost patterns are divided into two types: dendrites - branchy patterns that resemble trees, and trichites, which are more like stars.Tree-like dendrites
Dendrites form at the bottom of the glass, where the water layer is thicker. Here wide trunks of frosty patterns appear, on which thinner branches gradually grow. The dendrites in the lower part of the glass are wide and thick, and in the upper part they are narrower and thinner. This frosty pattern resembles the thicket of an impenetrable fairytale forest.Trichite star patterns
If there are a lot of nicks, dust particles and scratches on the glass, then trichites appear on it - frosty patterns that look like stars. First, the epicenter of the pattern—a speck of dust or a jagged surface—freezes, and then other crystals join it, like rays. As a result, frosty patterns look like a cluster of snowflakes or. When the temperature outside the window drops, trichites form dense ice fibers.When patterns don't appear on windows
If the air humidity in the room is low and the window has good thermal insulation, then condensation does not form on the glass and frosty patterns do not appear. That is why ice paintings, so familiar to residents of houses with old wooden windows, do not spoil residents of apartments with high-quality plastic windows.Synopsis of the educational activity “Snow Patterns” for children of primary preschool age
Gorchakova Yulia Alekseevna, teacher of the Irdanovsky kindergarten "Kolosok", Nikolsky municipal district, Vologda region.Description of material: This methodological development is designed for children of preschool and primary school age. All teachers are faced with the problem of how to explain to kids where the snow patterns on the windows come from. I bring to your attention a summary of the educational activity itself, which will help expand children’s understanding of Frost’s drawings on glass.
Integration of educational areas: cognitive development, speech development, artistic and aesthetic development (music).
Target: acquaintance with the secret of the appearance of frosty patterns on windows.
Tasks:
- clarify and expand children’s knowledge about winter, tell where snow patterns on windows come from;
- develop creative imagination, fantasy, promote the development of speech and gross motor skills;
- cultivate a love for the beauty of our native nature, a desire to preserve the beauty of the surrounding world.
Preliminary work: reading poems about winter, about Frost’s drawings, looking at snow patterns on the window, watching the patterns change.
Equipment: box with illustrations depicting snow patterns and Vologda lace.
The course of direct educational activities.
Organizing time.We reached out together,
They took the snowflake
Pressed to my heart
And they gave it to a friend. (Children perform actions according to the text)
Introductory conversation.
Let's remember what time of year it is now? That's right, winter. What is winter called in other words? (Zimushka, sorceress, sorceress). Winter is the most magical time of the year! Close your eyes and listen to the fairytale melody of Zimushka - winter. (The recording “Blizzard” is played).
What did you guys hear? (Reasonings of kids).
I also heard the cold wind blowing, and imagined the snow swirling, falling to the ground, the roofs of houses, and covering the windows.
Look at the window. What do you see on it? (Children's reasoning).
Invisible, carefully,
He comes to me
And he draws like an artist
He patterns on the window.
This is maple, and this is willow,
Here is the palm tree in front of me.
How beautifully he draws
Just white paint!
I look and can’t look away:
The branches of the line are tender!
And the artist is happy to try,
You don't even need brushes.
Guys, who is this artist? Of course, Frost. What pictures did he draw on our window? What do these patterns look like? What are they? (Children's answers).
Looking at pictures depicting frosty patterns.
Without waiting for warmth,
In the middle of a winter day,
The flowers have bloomed
On my window.
I approached the flowers
My cheek became wet
Because the windows
I touched lightly.
I approached the flowers
But they didn't smell...
Why did they grow up?
On winter days? (J. Marcinkevičius “Ice Flowers”)
These patterns are very similar to Vologda lace, look at these photos.
Please tell me how you get such beautiful lace patterns on glass? (Children's answers). Frost draws patterns with transparent water vapor, which is always in the air and in the room. Let's breathe on the glass. What happens to the patterns? That's right, they disappear, they melt! Warm vapor turns into ice crystals, like snowflakes. There are many such ice crystals, they connect with each other, hold hands like this, and an ice garden gradually grows on the window with extraordinary flowers sparkling in the rays of the winter sun!
Let's pretend that we are snowflakes and dance with me.
Dance "Snowflake".
We are funny snowflakes
We are spinning in the air.
The wind blew and we flew,
We flew, we flew
And they sat down quietly on the ground.
The wind came again
And he picked up all the snowflakes.
Spun and flew
And they sat down on the ground again.
What new did you learn today? What did you like most? Guys, today you were real little explorers and learned a lot of interesting things! And if you want to learn even more about snowflakes, dress warmly and go for a walk!
Synopsis of a research and educational lesson in the 2nd junior group “Let's help sew on a teddy bear
D. Kedrina:
On the windows, completely covered with frost,
February wrote down frost
Plexus of milky white herbs
And silvery sleepy roses.
Tropical summer landscape
Draws a cold on the window.
Why does she need roses? Apparently this
Winter yearns for spring...
How short-lived these works of nature are, but how beautiful!
From the contemplation of miraculous patterns, amazing fantastic artistic images are born. Sometimes you see exotic plants: palm or lotus leaves, or unprecedented birds with huge, beautiful feathers. It is not surprising that people “spied” fantastic snow patterns from nature and very talentedly transferred them into lace weaving (Vologda lace), knitting down scarves and scarves, which are decorated with stylized snowballs, stars, blizzard snakes, snow-covered Christmas trees, white fluffy trees.
Artistic imitation of a pattern on glass.
Pictures on glass awaken your imagination.
How do such bizarre paintings appear?
In the cold, drawings appear on the window glass.
On the one hand, the crystals themselves have their own structure, which determines the pattern. In addition, scratches on the glass surface, dust particles, humidity, and air currents help “Santa Claus” create beautiful patterns on the windows.
These patterns have specific names: dendrites(tree formations) and trichites(fibrous forms). If the cooling of glass begins at a positive temperature and high humidity, then the film of water formed on it begins to crystallize into dendrites as the ambient temperature decreases.
The pattern first appears at the bottom of the window, where gravity accumulates more water. Here, due to the greater amount of moisture, the dendrites are more pronounced than in the upper part of the glass. With further cooling, the dendrites become overgrown with smaller processes and notches of ice.
Trichites form along the edges of scratches from any hard body, creating slightly curved, parallel strips of frost. When the air temperature drops, they transform into dense ice fibers.
It can be put simply this way: “it is energetically more favorable for water vapor to crystallize on glass than in air. After the start of crystallization, dendrites appear on the water surface of the glass - single crystals of ice, which grow with the arrival of new vapors. The main fiber and the thin strips of frost adjacent to it are slightly curved Everything is simple. This once again confirms the idea: “everything ingenious is simple.”
Despite the simplicity of the physical processes involved in the creation of dendrites and trichites, it is impossible to predict the result of a future frosty pattern on glass. From here we can only hope that the patterns on the windows will forever remain a treasure trove of masterpiece paintings.
It is difficult to find a person who has not at least once admired the sight of frozen moisture on glass in winter. It turns out that you can create an amazingly beautiful frosty pattern on a window with your own hands. And it's not that difficult.
Anyone can try to make a simple or more intricate winter composition even inside the home: on a glass interior door, closet door or mirror. And this does not require frost and moisture at all.
There are several ways to create one in your home. Let's try to figure out what is needed for this and what skills will be required from the performer.
Natural frosty pattern on the window
Winter stains on glass are essentially frost that forms under certain conditions on tree branches, wires and any other surface. This happens when the temperature drops below zero degrees. The moisture in the surrounding air freezes, turns into a solid state and settles in the form of ice crystals on exposed surfaces.
The same thing happens with windows. The seemingly smooth glass actually has minor scratches and cracks. Dust particles settle in them. Ice crystals falling on this heterogeneous and unequal surface, especially when exposed to gusts of wind, form a unique frosty pattern.
Unfortunately, with the advent of sun or warmth, this beauty disappears. Modern plastic windows eliminate the possibility of frost streaks. Their double-glazed windows are reliably insulated, they fog up little from the inside and prevent freezing of the internal space.
But is it possible to stop a person with artistic inclinations who wants to create a frosty pattern on his window glass in the summer? Of course not!
Frosty pattern: imitation
If there are no two main factors - moisture and glass cooled to a negative temperature - the occurrence of natural frost on the window is impossible. Once you know the reasons for the formation of frost patterns, you can try to create them in the summer.
Chemical reactions of crystallization of certain solutions come to the rescue. There are known methods for creating imitation frosty patterns using magnesium sulfate (other names: magnesia, bitter or can be used for these purposes (also known as antichlorine, hyposulfite, photographic fixer).
These chemical compounds are not dangerous substances; they can be purchased at pharmacies or chemical stores, and, subject to minimum safety requirements, used for decorative purposes to imitate a frosty pattern.
You will also need brushes to apply the design; you can use cotton pads, a sponge or other suitable items for this. To speed up the evaporation of moisture, it is convenient to use a hairdryer.
Chemical frost
To create a frosty pattern using magnesium sulfate, you need to dilute 50 mg of this substance in 100 g of beer and use this solution to paint streaks on a cleanly washed and dried window. After drying (you can speed up the process with a hairdryer), magnesia crystals will appear on the surface.
Another version of the working solution: the same magnesium sulfate, but instead of beer, boiled water is used and a tablespoon of diluted gelatin is added. Use a brush, sponge or cloth swab. The solution is applied with chaotic and disorderly movements onto the degreased glass.
Frosty patterns on glass with the help of sodium thiosulfate are formed after the evaporation of moisture from a working solution prepared from 40 g of this substance dissolved in a glass of water. The chemical pattern in this case will be white, denser, opaque, reminiscent of snow.
The technique for creating a drawing is selected individually. After several trials, you can develop certain skills. You need to try to depict frosty streaks, “feathers”, curls, impromptu snowflakes. After an unsuccessful attempt, the solution can be easily removed with a damp cloth and the creative process can be repeated again.
Wood glue
Previously, in Soviet times, frosty patterns on glass were obtained using the surface. It was necessary to remove the gloss, treat it to a light dullness with sandpaper or sand and abrasive. The bottom line is that when soaked in water and swollen, tile or granular wood glue dries out, wrinkles and shrinks in an unpredictable way.
If such a composition, heated to a fluid state in a water bath, is applied in a layer of up to 3 mm to glass treated until dull, then after a day it will begin to dry out. The composition adhered to the surface, shrinking during the hardening process, will form a network of unique patterns. After completion, the crumbled particles are carefully swept away with a brush.
The glass for such frost should not be thin, otherwise it will simply be bent and deformed by the tension force of the drying wood glue. The working composition is applied to a flat horizontal surface and left there for a day.
This frosty pattern remains forever. You should be careful when wiping off dust and washing glass after exposure to wood glue - the sharp edges of the design can injure the skin.
Painting with toothpaste
Not everyone decides to paint window glass, citing a lack of artistic ability or unwillingness to wash the paint off the windows. But with the help of such material you can get easily washable designs. Frosty patterns with toothpaste are safe, this technology is accessible even to children.
Glasses after unsuccessful creative processes are easy to clean and even shine better after that. And creativity can be limited to just a simple spray of dissolved toothpaste from a spray bottle.
The main thing is to make up your mind, and once you understand the simplicity of the idea, you can try to paint the glass with a brush (preferably with stiff bristles) in the style of frosty frost. Strokes are applied starting from the corner and moving towards the center. To simplify, you can keep on hand a suitable image of a natural frosty pattern or any abstract picture.
according to the template
For people who don't want to paint, but want to decorate their windows with artificial frost, there is an easy way to create frosty designs with your own hands. A stencil with a finished composition will be the best solution for those who have never picked up a brush and paint.
You can purchase a template with a picture in a store or make it yourself. This won’t be difficult if you don’t immediately set yourself the goal of simulating realistic winter stains. You can download your favorite composition from the Internet, but it is better to draw it yourself, especially together with your child.
You can start with a simple snowman, a simple image of a Christmas tree, various animals, ornate stars. After transferring the design onto thick paper, the contours are carefully cut out. The template is applied to the glass or glued with tape and a solution of toothpaste diluted to a creamy state is applied.
If you add a little watercolor or gouache paint to it, you can get more opportunities for realizing your ideas. For application use a kitchen foam sponge or brush. You can use not only the sheet with the cutout as a background as a stencil, but also the image itself, applying the coloring composition around it.
With a small child who is used to tasting everything, you can arrange a fun drawing session. Frosty patterns can be made completely safe if you use powdered sugar to create them.
It can be attached to sterile glass using an adhesive base made from honey, sucrose, fructose or any tasty syrup diluted with water. If the baby really likes the result, he can even eat homemade frosty patterns.
The stencil is applied to the washed glass, edible adhesive is spread, then ground granulated sugar is applied with a puff or soft powder brush. Even a child can do this. The safety of the exciting process is ensured, the kids will be delighted. And they can safely taste the design after removing the stencil.
Artificial snow
There is another simple way to create frost on any surface. A frosty pattern on a window using a stencil can be quickly and easily applied using artificial snow. It is better to choose a can of this composition from the category of non-melting flakes.
It is better to choose a winter composition associated with the New Year holidays. Snowflakes and all sorts of fairy-tale characters who act in winter are suitable.
The glass is washed and wiped dry so that there is no condensation or wet stains left. Shake the can of snow thoroughly before use. The sides of the template must fit snugly against the glass so that clear frosty patterns can be obtained. It is better to attach the stencil with tape.
Spray the composition from a distance of 15 to 40 cm, depending on the desired effect of frost density. After applying snow, remove excess snow with a dry cloth, and carefully remove the stencil.
Snowflakes for windows
A frosty pattern on glass is not necessarily an ornate, unique design. For many people, a simple snowflake on a window is a symbol of winter and the New Year holidays.
You can start creating frosty patterns for children by making homemade paper masterpieces. The material can be any paper, but traditionally napkins were used for these purposes. They are already folded in four layers. All that remains is to make one more diagonal fold so that this is the middle part of the snowflake, take the scissors and start creating.
You can cut out the design using templates or come up with your own pattern. It is quite difficult to know in advance what a snowflake will turn out to be. Only after removing unnecessary details and unfolding the paper sheet can you imagine and understand how this or that intricate pattern turned out. Snowflakes can be decorated with sparkles, or you can cut them out of foil.
Anyone can make frosty patterns with their own hands, the main thing is to want it, allocate and spend a little time and effort. Mood, impressions and positive emotions are guaranteed.
Chaotic lines, wide stripes and arcs, the smallest woody motifs... The main artist in winter is frost, which paints unique pictures on the windows. How does this happen?
In scientific terms, frosting occurs on the inner surface of the glass. The fact is that the air temperature near windows in the winter season is always lower than in the rest of the room. Cold air cannot contain as much moisture as warm air; it falls in the form of frost in winter or dew in summer. If the glass temperature is above zero, then the windows become covered with tiny droplets of moisture - they fog up (those who wear glasses will understand what we are talking about). And if it is below zero, then water vapor settles not in the form of water droplets, but immediately in the form of ice crystals (that is, water transitions from a gaseous state immediately to a solid state - sublimation). Such ice crystals (frost) cover the glass with a thin layer.
And the pattern is associated with air movements in the room: people move, the hood is working, windows are opened for ventilation, there are cracks in the frames, etc. The features of the glass surface (tiny scratches, dust or fingerprints, etc.) play an important role. The combination of these factors forms a unique frosty pattern.
By the way, not only windows can become frosty, but also any objects cooled to a negative temperature that are brought from the street into a warm room. It’s just that the frost on them doesn’t look so impressive, and these objects usually quickly heat up to room temperature. Another thing is windows, the low temperature of which is maintained by external cold.
And most importantly, the pattern on the windows also indicates that the room has poor thermal insulation. In modern double-glazed windows, where two or even three glasses are used, frosty patterns no longer form. In this case, there is a vacuum with zero moisture content between the glasses and there is simply nothing to settle on the cold glass (the one adjacent to the street). Now the lot of frosty patterns are houses in villages, windows of some buses and trolleybuses. Progress leaves romance in the past...