So why is snow the color white and not clear? Is it because of the way it freezes?
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Edges in sunlight are white and all the snowflakes in a pile of snow have edges.
You see the colors “white,” “gray,” and “silver” when light of every color reaches your eyes from an object without a preference for any one color over others. Silver colored objects preserve some of the internal structure of the light that bounces off them, so you can see things reflected in them, whereas gray and white objects destroy the internal structure of the light so you only see bright and dark. White differs from gray by being brighter — a white thing in shade can look gray, and a gray thing in bright light can look white.
When light enters a clear solid object like a lens or a snowflake or a window, it bends a bit. The same happens with clear liquids. In a big pile of snow, all the snowflake edges bend sunlight randomly, destroying all the internal structure of the light and then sending it off in every direction.
Clouds and table sugar are also white because they have a lot of edges in them.
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