Frost Growth Screensaver
The Frost Growth screensaver runs diffusion-limited aggregation in three dimensions: particles wander at random until they touch the cluster, then stick there permanently. It runs in the browser with nothing to install; press ESC to exit.
How the Frost Growth screensaver works
The saver renders with three.js on your GPU. The library is vendored into this site rather than fetched from a CDN, and loads only when a 3D screensaver actually runs.
It reads nothing external — the growth is simulated in the browser.
The scene resizes with the window and releases its WebGL context when the saver stops, so shuffle mode and Multi-view can cycle 3D savers without exhausting the browser's context limit.
If WebGL is unavailable the saver says so on screen rather than showing an empty black box.
A worked example
Each particle is launched from a sphere just outside the cluster and takes a random walk until it contacts something. Because a wandering particle is far more likely to meet a protruding tip than to find its way into a sheltered crevice, tips grow faster and the structure branches. Nothing decides that shape — it follows from the outside being easier to reach than the inside.
Settings & tips
- Accent and Background recolour the scene; Speed changes the pace of the motion and the camera.
- Add it to a Multi-view grid, though 3D savers are heavier than 2D ones and a few per screen is plenty.
- Press ESC at any time to leave fullscreen.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does this happen in nature?
- Frost on a window, mineral dendrites in rock, copper deposited in electroplating, and the branching of a lightning channel. Any process where something arrives by random motion and sticks on contact produces this family of shapes.
- Why does it grow slowly?
- Because each particle must genuinely random-walk until it makes contact, and most of that walking goes nowhere. Speeding it up by placing particles directly would produce a different, less realistic shape.
- Does this need a special browser or plugin?
- No. It uses WebGL, which every current desktop and mobile browser supports. Nothing is installed and no plugin is required.
- Does it cost anything or need an account?
- No. Every screensaver here is free, runs in the browser and needs no sign-up.