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A '''snowball''' is a ball of [[snow]], usually created by scooping snow with the hands and compacting it into a roughly fist-sized ball. The snowball is necessary to hold a [[snowball fight]]. The pressure exerted by the hands on the snow is determinant for the final result. Reduced pressure leads to a light and soft snowball. A higher pressure cause the snow to melt, turning into liquid water. Once the pressure is removed, the water turns again into [[ice]], leading to a more compact and hard snowball, which eventually can be considered harmful during a snowball fight. The process of melting and refreezing is called [[regelation]].
A '''snowball''' is a ball of [[snow]], usually created by scooping snow with the hands and compacting it into a roughly fist-sized ball. The snowball is necessary to hold a [[snowball fight]]. The pressure exerted by the hands on the snow is determinant for the final result. Reduced pressure leads to a light and soft snowball. A higher pressure cause the snow to melt, turning into liquid water. Once the pressure is removed, the water turns again into [[ice]], leading to a more compact and hard snowball, which eventually can be considered harmful during a snowball fight. The process of melting and refreezing is called [[regelation]].


A snowball may also refer to a large ball of snow formed by rolling a smaller snowball on a snow-covered surface. The smaller snowball grows by picking up additional snow as it rolls. The term [[snowball effect]] is named after this process.
A snowball may also be a large ball of snow formed by rolling a smaller snowball on a snow-covered surface. The smaller snowball grows by picking up additional snow as it rolls. The term [[snowball effect]] is named after this process.
==The historical significance of snowballs==
==The historical significance of snowballs==

Revision as of 13:52, 17 February 2007

A sampling of snowballs.
A medieval image from Italy of people using snowballs
Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Winter

A snowball is a ball of snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands and compacting it into a roughly fist-sized ball. The snowball is necessary to hold a snowball fight. The pressure exerted by the hands on the snow is determinant for the final result. Reduced pressure leads to a light and soft snowball. A higher pressure cause the snow to melt, turning into liquid water. Once the pressure is removed, the water turns again into ice, leading to a more compact and hard snowball, which eventually can be considered harmful during a snowball fight. The process of melting and refreezing is called regelation.

A snowball may also be a large ball of snow formed by rolling a smaller snowball on a snow-covered surface. The smaller snowball grows by picking up additional snow as it rolls. The term snowball effect is named after this process.

The historical significance of snowballs

Current World Record

Students of Michigan Technological University rolled the World's Largest Snowball on February 10 2006. It was 21 feet 3 inches in circumference (81 inches or 2.06 metres in diameter).

Heraldry

The snowball occasionally occurs as a charge in heraldry.

Snowballs in fiction