The cellar door of science
When communicating science, jargon can be a barrier to understanding. On the other hand, there are some terms in the language of science which are quite beautiful as words for their own sake. Often, they have quite evocative meanings, too.  Could words which are inherently nice to hear or read be a useful hook for grabbing an audience?
I'm particularly partial to the word "aurora". It has the added advantage of being associated with several beautiful phenomena, but I think I also just like the way it sounds.  Although... I wonder whether that's really true. To what extent is it possible for me to think about the word "aurora" without picturing lights in the sky?
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"
Juliet famously loves Romeo regardless of his family name. Supposedly, a thing or person's "essence" is independent of the label attached to it. This is an intriguing thought. However, we students of communication know that the perception is sometimes just as relevant as the reality.
This isn't a purely philosophical point. Indeed, research has shown that a rose given other names really doesn't smell as nice. Names and words matter to how we think about the world.
There's plenty more to be said about this topic, but this will do for now.
 On the other hand, I don't want to stray too far into woody/tinny territory...
Over to you:
- What are your favourite-sounding science words?
- Have you ever seen an aurora? Is it as beautiful as the hype suggests?
- When did you last smell a rose?