No, it is not feldspar!

Feldspars (KAlSi3O8 – NaAlSi3O8 – CaAl2Si2O8) are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feldspar

H2O Phase Diagram

it is Ice - H2-O.
Ice is the most common rock found on and above the surface of the earth. During the ice ages it was nearly the only rock visible.
Even today it covers huge areas as it fluctuates from season to season. In it’s molten state it covers 3/4 of our planet.
Without ICE to preserve our food, cool our drinks, indeed, without it in liquid form to drink, or as a vapor to breathe, our survival is doubtful. Perhaps because of that we sometimes forget it IS a ROCK.

As a solid it can assume a large number of different crystalline structures depending on temperature and pressure.
At ordinary pressures the stable phases of ice are called ice Ih (hexagonal) or Ic (cubic), and so far the various discovered high-pressure phases of ice number up to ice XIV. 14 different crystal structures!







We usually think of hydrogen atoms as teensy-weensy spheres with the electron forming the outer shell, whipping around the nucleus at about 1% of the speed of light, perhaps 1,800 miles per second - being virtually everywhere in the tiny shell at the same time.




Hydrogen atoms are “electromagnetically charged” particles. They lack one electron in their outer shell to “feel” complete, but don’t have enough nuclear proton charge to really permanently hold one as helium does. So they like to go around in pairs each sharing the others electron, looking like Siamese teardrops. When extra energy is added as temperature and/or pressure they can pop out in many other configurations.

Oxygen atoms are two electrons short in their outer orbits and likewise like to go around in pairs.
Put hydrogen and oxygen together with any kind of a spark and they unite explosively to produce the far more stable ice/water/steam molecules that still like to travel around in pairs as tetrahedrons.

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Electrons find many connecting paths to nearby tetrahedra while obeying the “Ice Rules”:

one hydrogen atom on each O- - -O bond, two hydrogen atoms near each oxygen.
Both atoms expand or contract independently with changes in temperature and/or pressure, forcing subtle changes in molecular angles.
This is what gives such astounding diversity to Snow Flakes.




As a liquid it is known as "the Universal Solvent." Water has the highest Specific Heat of any common substance!

Pure Water =1.00 in Calories per gram in degrees C.
Wet mud = 0.60, Ice (0 C) = 0.50, Steam = 0.48, Wood = 0.41, Sandy clay = 0.33, dry Air at sea level = 0.24, Asphalt = 0.22, Aluminum = 0.22, Quartz sand = 0.19, Granite = 0.19, Bone = 0.11, Copper = 0.093, Silver = 0.056, Mercury = 0.033, Lead = 0.031, Gold = 0.031.

Note the irregularity (in the yellow oval) in specific heat as water turns to ice.

As water gets colder some interesting things happen. the nucleus calms down and the orbiting electrons draw closer. Water becomes more and more dense. Winter winds cool the surface of ponds and lakes, but ground at the bottom keeps that water warm. An inversion forms until finally the heavy cold top water tips, then flips the body of water over. Lake Turnover!
As the molecules approach freezing, they change their minds and start expanding and becoming lighter again!


H2O can change from a solid or liquid to a gas, suddenly increasing its volume by a factor of two thousand!
The volume and density of individual gas molecules continues to fluctuate with changes in temperature and pressure, giving us different cloud layers where different snowflakes are formed.

Vapor information: http://www.world-builders.org/lessons/less/les3/les3gifs/layers.gif

In the troposphere, temperature decreases with altitude. In the stratosphere, however, the temperature remains constant for a while and then increases with altitude. The region of the atmosphere where the lapse rate changes from positive (in the troposphere) to negative (in the stratosphere), is defined as the tropopause. The tropopause is an inversion layer, and there is little mixing between the two layers of the atmosphere.

The troposphere is where all weather takes place; it is the region of rising and falling packets of air. The air pressure at the top of the troposphere is only 10% of that at sea level (0.1 atmospheres). There is a thin buffer zone between the troposphere and the next layer called the tropopause.
The chemical composition of the troposphere is essentially uniform, with the notable exception of water vapor. The source of water vapor is at the surface through the processes of evaporation and transpiration. Furthermore the temperature of the troposphere decreases with height, and saturation vapor pressure decreases strongly as temperature drops, so the amount of water vapor that can exist in the atmosphere decreases strongly with height. Thus the proportion of water vapor is normally greatest near the surface and decreases with height.

Air weight at
40,000 Feet 2.8 pounds per square inch
30,000 Feet 4.5 pounds per square inch
20,000 Feet 5.7 pounds per square inch
10,000 Feet 10.2 pounds per square inch
Sea Level-14.7 pounds per square inch

For more information and achingly beautiful photos like the one below try http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/






























Those small temperature changes could be forcing major electron orbital shifts and causing the abrupt shift in the way the molecules can connect.

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