Model crystals
Cellular-automaton models, in which a grid of cells are left to interact with one another
according to a set of well-defined rules, have recently enabled researchers to simulate the
growth of snow crystals. More technically, these models are beginning to incorporate physically
derived rules that imitate reasonable "attachment kinetics" at the crystal surface in addition to
solving the diffusion equation of a growing crystal (see main text). As these techniques become
more refined, we should be able to generate numerical models of snow crystals that look and
grow like the real thing.
Source: D Griffeath and J Gravner