In this paper, I propose a pragmatic analysis of metaphor’s informative use in a corpus of Italian popular scientific articles in physics. Today, most information about scientific progress in physics reaches the public through dissemination and popular scientific articles. According with traditional analysis of science communication, a long tradition placed dissemination at the margins of scientific communication, but for many aspects this channel represents today an important test, that forces scientists to master unusual tools in science communication, like metaphors, to stand up in front of a public of non-specialized readers. With some examples taken from the corpus, I show how authors use metaphors in these articles, what are the advantages and problems of their choices and the correlation between metaphorical language and the characteristics of the popular scientific genre.
