If you’ve ever been to a ski resort you’re probably already familiar with the snow-maker machines or snow guns. Even if never leaving the lodge it isn’t atypical to see several jets of snow being fired at high velocity from the mouth of what looks to be a water cannon. If outside, you’d also be familiar with the dull and constant roar that accompanies the process on a cold day when there isn’t much natural snow in the air or on the worked slopes.
Although it’s preferable to have natural snow, artificial snow is good for increasing the layers of snow pack and covering ice patches and obstacles that would otherwise create hazardous conditions. Unlike natural snow flakes, artificial snow is of a finer and denser ice crystal formation and leads to an easier formation of ice under compression. These denser ice particles are produced with several different types of machines but a similar process.
In natural occurring snow formation rising air currents bounce moisture up and down in cloud banks until they are no longer able to keep the formed flake airborne or the currents die down and the snow falls. Because this is a complicated process in the super cooled upper atmosphere it would be very difficult to replicate in the much warmer and closer to the ground environment where the snow is wanted. So instead the reliance is on much smaller and less complex formations of ice crystals. These “artificial” snow flakes are usually produced by mixing compressed air and high pressure water and projecting it into the air. Sometimes small crystals of ice or dust are used as nuclei that the water can freeze to. As temperature is a factor it is necessary to increase the duration of time the dispersed water is kept in the air so it has a chance to freeze. This is why snow-making usually takes place at night or when the temperatures are well below freezing.
Typical snow maker models involve nozzles set on low standing tripods, up on towers, or even in front of fans. Even the homeowner can convert a garden hose into a potential snow maker if utilizing a nozzle, but high pressure washers work better. The low standing snow-makers often fire a high pressure water and air mixture at a low angle across a fair distance. The water and air mix together within a special chamber inside the nozzle before coming out.
A different version, the one set of a tower uses two nozzles, one for water and one for air, with the air used to disrupt the flow of the water and disperse it easier. Sometime nuclei will be injected with the air and the higher placement increases the chance for freezing. A similar method is used with the newer fan models, which rely on an electric source as well to control its various settings, valves, air, and the fan. This model can be controlled either manually or by remote computer systems.
