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TERRERA

Volume 502 · 89 words · 1797 Edition

or little earth, is a magnet turned of a spherical figure, and placed so as that its poles, equator, &c. do exactly correspond with those of the world. It was at first called by Gilbert, as being a just representation of the great magnetic globe we inhabit. Such a terrella, it was supposed, if nicely polished, and hung in a meridian like a globe, would be turned round like the earth in 24 hours by the magnetic particles pervading it; but experience has shown that this is a mistake.