Snowball 64861 225848810 2008-07-15T18:05:05Z Husond 1732934 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/217.82.172.67|217.82.172.67]] to last version by Amalthea (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]]) {{otheruses}} [[Image:Snowpyramids.jpg|thumb|A sampling of snowballs.]] [[Image:Venceslao Gennaio Castello Buonconsiglio Trento c1400 detail.jpg|thumb|right|A medieval image from Italy of people using snowballs]] [[Image:Ambrogio Lorenzetti 010.jpg|thumb|100px|Ambrogio Lorenzetti's ''Winter'']] {{wiktionary|snowball's chance in hell}} A '''snowball''' is a [[sphere|spherical]] object made from frozen water or [[snow]], usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and compacting it into a roughly fist-sized ball. The snowball is often used to engage in games, such as [[snowball fight]]s. The pressure exerted by the hands on the snow is determinant for the final result. Reduced pressure leads to a light and soft snowball. A higher pressure causes the snow to melt, turning into liquid water. Once the pressure is removed, the water turns again into [[ice]], leading to a more compact and hard snowball called an '''iceball''', which eventually can be considered harmful during a snowball fight. The process of melting and refreezing is called [[regelation]]. A snowball may also be a large ball of snow formed by rolling a smaller snowball on a snow-covered surface. The smaller snowball grows by picking up additional snow as it rolls. The terms "[[snowball effect]]" and "snowballing" are named after this process. This technique is often used to create [[Snowman|snowmen]]. ==Current World Record== Students of [[Michigan Technological University]] rolled the World's Largest Snowball on [[February 10]], [[2006]].<ref name="record">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtu.edu/worldrecord/|title=World Records|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=December 17|publisher=[[Michigan Technological University]]|year=2006|author=Michigan Tech}}</ref> It was 21 [[Foot (unit of length)|feet]] 3 [[inch]]es in circumference (81 inches or 2.06 [[metre]]s in diameter).<ref name="record"/> ==Heraldry== The snowball occasionally occurs as a [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] in [[heraldry]]. ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Snow]] [[Category:Play]] [[Category:Hobbies]] [[cs:Sněhová koule]] [[de:Schneeball (Schnee)]] [[fr:Boule de neige]] [[he:כדור שלג]] [[nl:Sneeuwbal (sneeuw)]] [[nn:Snøball]] [[pl:Śnieżka (kulka)]] [[simple:Snowball]] [[fi:Lumipallo]] [[sv:Snöboll]]