electron shells
"Here's the deal. Electron shells are like nesting dolls, one tucked inside the other. The first shell, closest to the nucleus, can only hold two electrons. The second shell can hold eight, the third 18 and so on. Now imagine that each shell is a layer of emotional intimacy. The people you hold closest, tell the most to, inhabit the inner shell. Next is the layer of good friends, then acquaintances."
"Electron shells are like rings that continue outward away from the nucleus."
"The electron shells are like bumpers that keep the atoms from getting any closer together."
"The thing that produces quanta is the loss of energy. Electron shell-size decay is what produces quanta. What we call "light" is electromagnetic energy that has been shed. Light is also waves passing through space. The waves aren't things unto themselves, but are ripples in space. This means that light and space are one and the same thing. And since light comes from the collapse of electron shells, the electron itself is space in another form. Collapsing electron shells are like bubbles of space bursting."
"Basically the electron shells are like holla hoops around a person and the electrons found in the electron shells spinning around the person at great speed."
METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.