Musical and Philosophical Prelude Nuclei, Quarks & Relativity

THEME MUSIC: "Singin' in the Rain" by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown (arrangement by Roger Edens)

To the non-specialist, late 20th-century physics sometimes seems to be raining particles:  leptons, bosons, fermions, gluons, photons, neutrinos, quarks....  Ever higher-energy collisions created by powerful accelerators give birth to still more massive (and bizzare) fragments of the stuff which makes up our universe.  And sensitive detectors reveal that the heavens themselves continually shower us with cosmic rays containing muons, neutrinos, etc.  Can we make sense of this profusion?  Is there a logical order?  Or is this a chaotic downpour?  Nowadays we believe we have a "standard model" which accomodates all the experimental findings and has a place for each particle.  If so, perhaps we are justified in "singing in the rain!"

PERFORMANCE:  Gene Kelly - from the original soundtrack of the MGM Motion Picture "Singin' in the Rain," recorded 6/5/51 and 1/16/52
(Turner Classical Movies Music CD #271963)

CONCLUSION:  "Singin' in the Rain" performed by the lyricist Arthur Freed and the MGM Studio Orchestra in a radio broadcast to benefit the Greek resistance.  Los Angeles, CA - February 25, 1941