Tags: atomic nuclei, atoms
Categories: Comparisons, Pseudo-explanations
An example of anthroporphism and metaphor:
"Apparently, certain stable atomic nuclei, content to sit quietly forever, could be rendered unstable if they were obliged to swallow additional subatomic particles. The forcibly engorged atomic nuclei, in an agitated state, began spewing out little pieces of themselves, just as in 'natural' radioactivity."
Professor Alan Lightman
Quoted in Royston M. Roberts (1989) Serendipity. Accidental discoveries in science.
The extended metaphor (swallow…engorged…spew) seems to be an implicit analogy with a glutton.
