Visible sunlight is white. Most natural materials absorb some sunlight, which gives them their color. Snow, however, reflects most of the sunlight.
The complex structure of snow crystals results in countless tiny surfaces from which visible light is efficiently reflected. What little sunlight is absorbed by snow is absorbed uniformly over the wavelengths of visible light, thus giving snow its white appearance.
From National Snow and Ice Data Center
See a more detailed answer at How Stuff Works
Definitions of snow on the Web (from Google):
- Precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals. A layer of snowflakes (white crystals of frozen water) covering the ground. (Princeton)
- Snow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by external pressure. (Wikipedia)
- The frozen, crystalline state of water that falls as precipitation. (Wiktionary)
Read more…
Snow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. The process of precipitation is called snowfall.
(Source: Wikipedia)
