cold air battles steam

Categories: Comparisons

An historical example of extended metaphor in a scientist's writing.

"These stripes reminded me of what happens in Turkish baths, when the winter's frost lays siege to broken windows. Cold air and steam do battle at such frontier passes."

Johannes Kepler

Kepler, J. (1966). A New Year's Gift. Or, on the six-cornered snowflake (C. Hardie, Trans.). Oxford University Press. (Original Latin edition, 1611)

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.

Author: Keith

Former school and college science teacher, teacher educator, research supervisor, and research methods lecturer. Emeritus Professor of Science Education at the University of Cambridge.