| 释义 |
‖ teˈrrella
[mod.L. dim. of terra earth: cf. L. terrula, and see -el2.]
1. A little Earth; a small orb or planet. Now rare or as nonce-use.
1657–83Evelyn Hist. Relig. (1850) I. 162 Only signifying His making greater worlds, and not these microcosm terrellas. 1682H. More Annot. Glanvill's Lux O. 141, I should rather suspect..that the Fire will more and more decay till it turn at last to a kind of Terrella, like that observed within the Ring of Saturn. Ibid. 142 To let its Central Fire to incrustate it self into a Terrella. 1959Daily Tel. 23 Feb. 11/8 Col. Steinkamp used the word ‘terrella’—a little world or earth—in the context of space flight.
†2. A spherical magnet, having like the earth two magnetic poles; sometimes, for experimental purposes, marked with lines representing the earth's equator, meridians, parallels, etc.: used to illustrate the dipping of the needle, and other phenomena of terrestrial magnetism. Also, a small artificial globe having a magnet within it, which behaves in the same way, and serves the same purposes. Obs.
1613M. Ridley Magn. Bodies 4 The first form of the Magnet..is a large one in fashion of a round ball, boule or globe, and we do call it a Terrella. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 62 The Terrella or sphericall magnet geographically set out with circles of the Globe. 1773Lorimer in Phil. Trans. LXV. 79 Whenever any one meets with a terrella, or spherical loadstone, the first thing he does is to find out its poles. 1822J. Imison Sc. & Art I. 405 A small globe, having a magnet enclosed within it, which..is called a terrella. 1837Brewster Magnetism 304 Shape it..so as to give it any form.., whether of a terrella,..or any other. |