Results of Preliminary Experiments on the Plasticity of Ice Crystals

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Abstract
The growth of single crystals of ice for the study of plasticity has to be done with care, since a disturbing lineage structure is easily generated. The orientation of specimens can be found from growth figures (dendrites) and Tyndall’s “flowers”; these give thea-axis, as the branches in both cases point in the [1120] direction. Slip occurs on the basal plane without following a definite glide direction. In pure shear two stages of creep exist, the first for a glide of 10–20 per cent in an undeformed crystal, the second for greater shears having a higher creep velocity. Both stages obey the law,nbeing 2.3–4 in the first case and 1.3–1.8 in the second. The deformed state above the transition remains stable and no recrystallization takes place in pure shear. Restoration of the undeformed state by recrystallization occurs only in inhomogeneously deformed parts. This observation may have an influence in interpreting measurements of glacier movements and tests on polycrystalline specimens in the laboratory.

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