An example of a teaching analogy:
"When a power boat is cruising on a lake, the wave which it produces has its greatest amplitude right at the boat, and the amplitude decreases as the distance from the boat increases. Thus you could locate the most probable location of the boat by analyzing the amplitude and energy of its associated water wave.
This is analogous to the wave mechanical model which visualises the atom as a positive nucleus surrounded by vibrating electron waves. The Schrödinger Wave Equation describes the amplitude and other characteristics of the waves which are associated with the moving electrons, and thus it also is able to describe the energy and location of the orbiting electrons."
Source: Murray Hart, retired science teacher, previously posted at scienceanalogies.com
Read examples of scientific analogies
