An example of a simile used to explain a scientific idea:
"Clouds of dust and gas pile up in a traffic jam just behind each spiral arm, along the inside of the curve, and are squeezed, triggering bursts of star formation…The largest stars formed in this way run through their life cycles quickly, and explode as supernovae. Such an explosion, sending a blast wave through the nearby interstellar material, is just the thing to trigger the collapse of other clouds to make more stars. Once the process gets going it spreads, like a forest fire, across the affected region of the Galaxy."
John Gribbin (1996) Companion to the Cosmos. (Ed., Mary Gribbin) Weidenfeld & Nicolson
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.
'Traffic jam' as used is a metaphor
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.
