An historical example of metaphor in science writing:
"Indeed, in the great laboratories of nature it can hardly be doubted that almost every kind of chemical process is going forwards, by which compounds of every description are continually forming."
Sir John F. W. Herschel
Herschel, J. F. W. (1830). Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy.
[Note: The laboratory, where the scientist intervenes in 'nature' in a controlled way, is normally contrasted with the 'natural' state.]
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Many examples of science metaphors are listed in 'Creative comparisons: Making science familiar through language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts'. Free Download.