How is Artificial Snow Made?
A number of tourist-oriented cities in temperate or hot areas contain large, insulated buildings filled with artificial snow for people to ski on. These artificial snow slopes can be found in Germany, Japan, and even some Middle Eastern countries, such as Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. These structures produce realistic looking and feeling snow for snowboarding and skiing year-round. Artificial snow is also produced in the entertainment industry for use as a prop or backdrop. How is it possible to produce artificial snow? Several components are necessary. First, the wall of the structure containing the snow must be insulated extremely well. Double-skinned insulated walls are commonly used. In some artificial snow slopes, the insulation is so good that it would take weeks for the snow to melt, even if all cooling systems were turned off. Snow is created at the roof of the building where “snow guns” use compressed air to fire tiny ice pellets (10 micron diameter) into a cloud of ato
