Ice as
frost on a window pane. Frost is not simply frozen water, it is a
sublimate of water vapor directly to the solid state without passing through the
liquid state.
This
is another view of frost on a window pane showing the arborescent growth of the
ice crystals.
Radiating blades of Ice on a pool of water at Lynx Creek, Arizona.
CHEMISTRY H2O Hydrogen dioxide
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY Hexagonal
CRYSTAL GROWTH AND HABITS Ice crystals are prismatic to tabular and often twinned as in snowflakes. Ice also forms rounded and concentrically zoned spheres as hail stones. It can also be stalactitic, massive granular and often feathery.
COLOR AND OTHER OPTICAL PROPERTIES Clear to white, transparent to translucent
HARDNESS 1.5
SPECIFIC GRAVITY 0.9
LUSTER Vitreous
STREAK - White
BREAKABILITY Conchoidal fracture, brittle
OCCURRENCE Formed planet wide by freezing water.
ASSOCIATED MINERALS None
OTHER PROPERTIES Melts in your hands and in your mouth.