madbaker | Physics and Mythology

(This was inspired by one of

badassslinky’s threads. This semester she has a physics class followed by mythology, and I stirred the pot by suggesting that some would call them the same thing.)

Are you ready? Then we'll begin.

"Once upon a time, Daedalus the positron fashioned wings of quarks and neutrinos for his son, Icarus, and himself. He cautioned Icarus to fly neither too high (up) or low (down), for the resulting collision would dissolve the atomic bonds holding the wings together. Icarus ignored his father’s warnings and, thrilled with the power of flight, flew too close to the electron and was annihilated. Daedalus flew to safety among the neutrinos and later erected a monument at SLAC to his son. Icarus has remained a cautionary symbol warning of the incautious exuberance of youth."