Background
The machines that produce artificial snow are designed to mimic the way that natural snow is made. In nature, snowflakes are formed when the temperature falls below 32° F (0° C). Atmospheric water then condenses on particles in the air and crystallizes. This action produces snowflakes that have a variety of sizes and shapes.
In a snow machine, water is first mixed with a nucleating material. It is then pressurized and forced through an atomizing nozzle. This breaks the water up into a mist, which is then injected with compressed air to break it up even further. As it exits the snow machine, the mist crystallizes on the nucleator and turns into tiny snow-like ice particles. Depending on the quality of the snow machine, the artificial snow can be as good as natural snow.