frost catcher impromptu
small round tin, plastic box, metal box, paver, stones, metal fragment
29 december 2009

__ The idea behind this frost catcher group, as with a previous one from dec 2008/jan 2009, is an attempt to replicate (somewhat) the conditions that see the most frequent frost accumulations around here - car windshields, hoods & roofs. These spur-of-the-moment catchers use an enclosed air space with, in two cases here, a heat sink (stones, pavers & metal) that is initially at indoor room temperature.

Deployment conditions looked like this:
EVENING 21:53PST 28DEC2009 MORNING 06:53PST 29DEC2009

The three catchers behaved somewhat differently.
The small tin seemed to have no frost whatsoever.
The larger metal box (foreground below) had some nice patterns on the lid.

It was the plastic box that really had some nice resilts.
Though it was not airtight it seemed that the temperature difference between the inside and the outside,
the warmer air trapped against the lid, is what made for some nice frost crystals.

"I want to say one word to you. Just one word . . . Plastics."



back to the frost catcher page
© jamie
newton