Classical physics as a metaphorical tool for evoking quantum world

Based on the notion of boundary as exposed by Russian mineralogist and geochemist Vladimir I. Vernadskij on the one hand, and the Kantian distinction between the Real and the Possible on the other hand, in this paper we develop a boundary-epistemologic approach to quantum mechanics in its relationship with classical physics. In particular we attempt: 1) to account for the ideal ‘boundary’ between quantum and classical world insisting on differences between these two domains; 2) to show, through a case study, how physicists put them together without erasing the boundaries in order to get better insights; 3) to advocate a boundary-based concept of metaphors in science.