An example of an analogy used to illustrate a scientific idea:
"Although most of the stars in the Galaxy orbit in a relatively thin disc about 100,000 light years across but only some 2,000 light years thick (thicker nearer the centre; thinner at the edge), they bob up and down within the confines of the disc as they orbit the centre of the Galaxy. This motion , rather like the way the needle of a sewing machine bobs up and down through the cloth, is constrained by the amount of matter there is in the disc."
John Gribbin (1996) Companion to the Cosmos. (Ed., Mary Gribbin) Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
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.
