terrella

Mar. 24th, 2015 08:41 am
prettygoodword: text: words are sexy (words are sexy)
[personal profile] prettygoodword
terrella or terella (teh-REL-uh) or terrel (teh-REL) - n., a small magnetized ball representing the Earth and its magnetic field.


Formerly used in experiments in trying to understand said magnetic field, now replaced largely by computer simulations. Invented and coined by William Gilbert (who also coined "electricity") in the late 1500s, from the Latin diminutive of terra, Earth.

---L.

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