ICARUS AND THE SUN SKINWhat if the special wings designed by Daedalus had allowed Icarus to fly even higher than the birds? Fine, we'll go higher.Īt about 20 miles above sea level lies the ozone layer - the sunglasses of our planet that protect us from skin cancer. So it was far more likely for Icarus to freeze to death than to have his wings melted. The temperatures would still have been going down at this level, hovering between -40 to -70 F depending on the local weather. That's why we have snowcapped mountains and not snow-footed mountains.Ĭonsidering the highest-flying bird, the Ruppell's griffon vulture, can reach a maximum height of only 37,000 feet, we can safely guess that this is about the point where the thin air would have made it difficult for Icarus to use his wings. If you've ever been on a mountain, you may have noticed that the higher you climb, the colder it gets.Īs Icarus ascended through this part of the atmosphere, known as the troposphere, the temperature would have dropped by an average of 3-4 degrees Fahrenheit for every 1,000 feet he climbed. So how high did Icarus have to fly for his wings to melt? From the ground up to cruising altitude The sun melted his waxy wings, and he plummeted to his death in the Aegean Sea. He built wings for himself and his son to escape and fly back home.īut his son, Icarus, being a symbol of youthful rebellion, ignored his father's advice and flew too close to the sun. (Inside Science) - Daedalus was a tragic genius from Ancient Greek mythology who was exiled to an island, where the king later imprisoned him.
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