Comparisons – Page 10 – Science-Education-Research

Venus might be called the twin sister of Earth

An example of personification in popular science writing:

"Venus might be called the twin sister of the Earth, and therefore naturally claims our attention first. Venus is not very aptly named, for she modestly hides her surface by a perpetual bank of white cloud. The nature of this cloud is a bit of a mystery…

There is another mystery about Venus. According to the observational astronomers it takes her more than twenty days to rotate on her axis. As it seems probable that all the planets at their birth had rotation periods of about ten hours, it is an interesting question as to what process has slowed down the rotation of Venus to such a marked extent."
Fred Hoyle (1960) The Nature of the Universe (Revised ed.)

Venus is traditionally personification as a 'she' ('her') historically being identified with the goddess of love of the same name.

Read about personification in science texts

Read about examples of personifying nature

Read about other examples of personification

Many examples of personification are included in 'Creative comparisons: Making science familiar through language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts'. Free Download.

Referring to Venus as the twin sister of earth can be considered a simile.

Read about similes in science

Read about examples of science similes

Many examples of science similes are listed in 'Creative Comparisons: Making Science Familiar through Language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts'. Free Download.

The reference to the 'birth' of planets is surely a metaphor, although perhaps one so frequently used by astronomers to be a dead metaphor.

Read about examples of phantom metaphors

Read about metaphor in science

Read about examples of science metaphors

reticulocyte count is a very good friend in evaluating anaemias

An example of metaphor in a science text:

"The pathophysiologic classification of anemia after transplantation is similar to that of nontransplanted patients. The major categories of decreased production, increased destruction, maturation defects, and bleeding apply, although the universe of differential diagnoses is much smaller, since most of the congenital and acquired hematopoietic defects that might be present in the donor will have been avoided. The RBC indices can be helpful, although a mild to moderate macrocytosis is common for months or years after transplantation and is not necessarily indicative of nutritional deficiency, abnormal DNA synthesis, or reticulocytosis. The reticulocyte count is a very good friend in evaluating anemias, and this applies in transplantation as well."
Antin, J. H. (2018) Secondary Anemias Associated with Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, in Edward J. Benz, Nancy Berliner, & Fred J. Schiffman, Anemia. Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management, Cambridge University Press, 179-184.

Read about metaphor in science

Read about examples of science metaphors

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.

macrophages survey red blood cells

An example of metaphor in a science text:

"Macrophages of the spleen, which survey circulating erythrocytes for aged or damaged cells, may also be overly active in response to inflammatory cytokines or infection."
Shanbhag, S. P. & Roy, C. N. (2018) Anemia of Chronic Inflammation, in Edward J. Benz, Nancy Berliner, & Fred J. Schiffman, Anemia. Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management, Cambridge University Press, 150-151.

Read about metaphor in science

Read about examples of science metaphors

something has got its foot on the accelerator pedal of the universe

An example of a simile in popular science discourse:

"But when we look on the biggest scales of all, look out to the other side [sic] of the universe, and we measure how fast the universe is expanding, it seems to be speeding up which no one really understands why. So we know, we've known the universe is growing for about a hundred years now, then about twenty, twenty five years ago astronomers did an experiment to measure exactly how fast the universe was expanding and then the answer was, it's speeding up, like something has its foot on the accelerator pedal of the universe. There some sort of energy pushing the universe apart faster and faster and faster, and we have no idea what it is. We call it dark energy, but."
Dr Matthew Bothwell (Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge) was speaking on an episode ('Invisibility Quest') of the programme*/podcast* 'Curious Cases'

Read about similes in science

Read about examples of science similes

Note: It is usually considered that the universe is finite (if vast) but unbounded. That is, there is no edge to the universe, as its mass curves space back in on itself. From this perspective there is no centre of the universe (just as there is no central point to the earth's surface), but all points can equally seem like the centre, as the universe extends as far as can be detected in all directions form any vantage point (just as anyone, anywhere on the earth surface could in principle choose to travel in any compass direction as no one is near an edge). I assume Dr Bothwell was using the phrase 'the other side of the universe' figuratively.

we can see the gravitational footprints of dark matter

An example of simile used in popular science discourse:

"So, we didn't see Neptune itself, we noticed Uranus behaving strangely and that clued us in that there was this mysterious planet pulling Uranus around. And we discovered dark matter in a similar way. When we look at how galaxies move around the universe, whether it's sort of galaxies orbiting inside clusters, or even individual galaxies spinning round, everything is moving as if there is a lot of invisible stuff around, like we're seeing the gravitational footprints, if you like, of this weird invisible stuff, and we just can't see it at any wavelength."
Dr Matthew Bothwell (Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge) was speaking on an episode ('Invisibility Quest') of the programme*/podcast* 'Curious Cases'

Read about similes in science

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black holes swallow light

An example of metaphorical language in popular science discourse

"Black holes are called black holes because the gravity is enough to swallow light, right, so there's what we call the event horizon, the outside edge of a black hole, and anything that goes past that, even light, is swallowed. But we can see black holes because before things fall past the event horizon they sort of swirl around the cosmic plug hole a bit. [Black holes are quite messy eaters, anything that falls in sort of gets all kind of churned up into this what we call an accretion disc,] this sort of swirling maelstrom of stuff being gobbled up by the black hole. And because the gravity of the black hole is so strong that swirling maelstrom goes incredibly fast, and gets incredibly hot, and at those temperatures you glow with X-rays. So if you take an X-ray of the sky you can see black holes glowing – its incredible."
Dr Matthew Bothwell (Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge) was speaking on an episode ('Invisibility Quest') of the programme*/podcast* 'Curious Cases'

Read about metaphor in science

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* I heard this programme broadcast live, and (being able to pause and replay using BBC Sounds) transcribed this quote. However, I was not satisfied I had accurately heard with the section that had transcribed as

…things fall past the event horizon they sort of swirl around the cosmic plug hole a bit. This sort of swirling maelstrom of stuff…

So, I went back to listen again, which meant accessing the podcast – and found the extra material shown here in square parentheses. Presumably the broadcast version had been edited to trim it to fit the allocated time slot. I have noticed edits in similar interviews on radio science programmes (noticing an apparent shift in background sounds: I assumed editors removing less relevant digressions; or speakers stumbling over words, and restating), but here I did not hear any edit, and only checked because I was not satisfied with the flow of language.

if you could see with infrared eyes the atmosphere would be a brick wall

An example a metaphor used in popular science discourse:

Hannah Fry: "Why is air invisible? I mean it is still made of matter."

MB: "Well It is just because so light waves, that we see with our eyes, the optical light waves, can just travel through it like pretty unimpeded. If we could see with different wavelength eyes, then air would be very, very visible. Like if you could see with infrared eyes for example then the atmosphere is a brick wall. Like the atmosphere is completely opaque in the infrared. … The sky would be black."
Dr Matthew Bothwell (Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge) was speaking on an episode ('Invisibility Quest') of the programme/podcast 'Curious Cases'

Read about metaphor in science

Read about examples of science metaphors

duvet cover in the wash is like a cell membrane

A response to a query ('why, when I put a duvet cover in the washing machine, with other items, they all end up inside the duvet cover when the programme finishes') addressed by a scientist mooting a hypothesis by analogy:

"I'd like to argue this might be a little bit like cell biology…So I have thought about this on a weekly basis for as long as I can remember, and I think what might be going on here is, obviously when you've got a duvet cover and if you have not sort of buttoned it up before putting it in the wash, you've got a very wide opening, so that's easy statistically for things to enter it, and then as it twists around in the wash, it's actually harder to leave. So, what you've got is kind of a difficulty gradient, things are more likely to go in than they are to come out; and my reckoning is if that keeps happening for a long enough period, enough cycles, eventually everything ends up inside. And the reason I kind of try to claim that's like cell biology is sometimes, certain substance, it is much easier for them to get into the cell, through the cell membrane because of the way it is made than it is for them to randomly diffuse out again. And that's a really sort of clever, not kind of actively driven way, of creating order, or something really weird like you observe in your washing machine – that's my theory anyway and I'm sticking to it."
Dr Penny Sarchet, Managing Editor of New Scientist was talking on an episode ('Answers to Your Science Questions') of BBC Inside Science.

Read about analogy in science

Read examples of scientific analogies

Many examples of science analogies are listed in 'Creative comparisons: Making science familiar through language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts'. Free Download.

(The phrase 'that's my theory anyway and I'm sticking to it' is something of a slogan, but the idea was clearly presented as a conjecture, not a formally worked up theory. Unfortunately many learners and lay people do not appreciate how 'theory' is understood in science. Read about misconceptions of scientific theories.)

wind farms rise like daffodils in Spring

An example of a simile in science journalism,

"Take a look around the coast of Britain. Enormous wind farms rising like daffodils in Spring."
Episode ('The super magnets') of BBC radio programme/podcast 'The Scramble for Rare Earths'

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250g neodymium magnet can support metal the weight of a giant panda

An example of an everyday comparison used to give a sense of scale:

"And they could only do that due to the extraordinary rare earth metal used in the magnets: neodymium. It's this that gives the magnets their power. How strong? Well, a magnet weighing half a pound can support metal the weight of a giant panda."
Episode ('The super magnets') of BBC radio programme/podcast 'The Scramble for Rare Earths'

Read about quotidian comparisons

A document listing a wide range of examples of science analogies, similes, metaphors and other comparisons, drawn from diverse sources, can be downloaded using this link: 'Creative Comparisons: Making Science Familiar through Language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts.'

417kg of rare earth minerals looks like a grand piano

An example of an everyday comparison used to explain the scale of a technical idea:

"That's the sound of America's flagship fighter jet, the F-35. There are four hundred and seventeen kg of rare earth minerals in every one made. And if you want to know what 417kg looks like: think of a grand piano."
An episode ('The Magnificent Seventeen') of the BBC radio programme /podcast 'The Scramble for Rare Earths'

Read about quotidian comparisons

The jet will contain highly refined materials, not minerals. So, perhaps this means

417kg of rare earth compounds, or
materials deriving from 417kg of rare earth elements; or even possibly
materials extracted from 417kg of rare earth ores?

Possibly the source is:

"Specifically, the report on the feasibility and desirability of recycling, recovery, and reprocessing of rare earth elements required by the conference report (H.Rept. 112-329) to accompany the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, states that each SSN-774 Virginia-class submarine would require approximately 9,200 pounds of rare earth materials, each DDG-51 Aegis destroyer would require approximately 5,200 pounds of these materials, and each F-35 Lightning II aircraft would require approximately 920 pounds of these materials."
Valerie Bailey Grasso (2013) Rare Earth Elements in National Defense:
Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress, R41744, Congressional Research Service

change of protein conformation changes a 'do not eat me' signal to a 'eat me' signal

An example of scientific writing which includes technical terms ('eat me signals', 'do not eat me signals') that may be perceived as figurative by novice or non-specialist readers.

"The engagement of RBC CD47 with macrophage SIRPα delivers an inhibitory ('don't eat me') signal to the macrophage, preventing phagocytosis. As an example, in murine models, CD47-deficient RBCs are cleared far more rapidly than control RBCs by splenic macrophages. But CD47's functional role in RBCs appears to be more complicated than simply inhibiting phagocytosis. In studies of many types of cells undergoing apoptosis, the CD47-SIRPα interaction has been shown to serve as an important signal promoting phagocytosis. Recent data suggest that CD47 molecules may undergo conformational changes as RBCs age, perhaps as a result of accumulated oxidative damage. After adopting its alternate conformation, RBC CD47 may provide an activating ('eat me') signal to the macrophage via SIRPα ligation rather than the usual inhibitory/'don't eat me' signal."
Kaufman, Richard (2018) Red Blood Cell Life Span, Senescence, and Destruction, in Edward J. Benz, Nancy Berliner, & Fred J. Schiffman, Anemia. Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management, Cambridge University Press, 19-22.

Read about examples of phantom metaphors

Read about metaphor in science

Read about examples of science metaphors