Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/367

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TESCHEN 315 TESTING CLAUSE It is notable in history as the place in which was signed the treaty terminating the war of the Bavarian Succession, on May 13, 1799. Pop. about 25,000. TESLA, NIKOLA, an American elec- trical inventor; born in Smiljan, Aus- tria-Hungary, in 1857 ; studied engineer- ing in the Ecole Polytechnique, Paris; and in 1884 came to the United States, and for several years was employed at Edison's laboratory, near Orange, N. J. He then opened a laboratory of his own. In 1888 he completed his discovery of the rotating magnetic fluid by the inven- tion of the rotary field-motor, the multi- phase system of which is used in the 80,000 horse power plant built to transmit the water power of Niagara Falls to Buffalo and other cities. He invented many methods and appliances for the use of electricity, among them the production of efficient light from lamps without fila- ments, and the production and transmis- sion of power and intelligence without wires. Among his wonderful inventions is that of the electrical oscillator, by which he claimed the electric current can be received from its source and given an intensity which will enable a copper wire to carry 50,000 horse-power across the ocean. In November, 1898, Tesla announced the discovery of, and on May 1, 1900, patented, a method of transmit- ting electrical energy without wires. Working along the same line Guglielmo Marconi invented his wireless-telegraphy. In 1901 Tesla discovered that the capac- ity of the electrical conductor is variable, thus opening up a new field for scien- tific research. In 1906 he was forced into litigation concerning some of his patents, but won his case. TESSELLATED PAVEMENT, a pave- ment of rich mosaic work, made of squares of marbles, bricks, or tiles, _ in shape and disposition resembling dice, and known as tesserae. TESSERA, a small cubical or other geometrical form of marble, earthenware, ivory, glass, etc., used for tessellated pavements, ornamenting walls, etc., col- ored tiles or bricks, usually cubical, laid in patterns, as a mosaic pavement. In an- tiquity, a small piece of wood, bone, or metal, used as a ticket of admission to the theaters in ancient Rome, or as a certificate given to gladiators, contain- ing their names, that of the consul, and the day on which they had won their distinction in the circus. TESTACELLA, in zoology and palaeon- tology, a genus of Limacidse, with three recent species, from the S. of Europe, the Canary Isles, and Great Brit- ain. Shell small and ear-shaped, placed at hinder extremity of the body which is elongated, broadest behind, tapering toward the head. The species are sub- terranean in habit, feeding on earth- worms, and visiting the surface only at night. During the winter and in long periods of drought they form a sort of cocoon in the ground by the exudation of mucous; if this be broken away the animal may be seen in its thin, opaque, white mantle, which rapidly contracts till it extends but a little way beyond the margin of the shell. Fossil species two, from Tertiary strata. TEST ACT, in English history, an act passed in 1563 by which an oath of allegi- ance to Queen Elizabeth, and of abjura- tion of the temporal authority of the Pope, was exacted of all holders of of- fice, lay or spiritual, within the realm, except peers. Also, an act passed in 1678, by which it was enacted that all persons holding any important office, civil or military, under the crown or receiving money therefrom, should take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, subscribe a declaration against transubstantiation, and receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to the usage of the Es- tablished Church. It was repealed in 1828. TESTI, FULVIO, COUNT, an Italian poet; born in Ferrara, Italy, Aug. 23, 1593. He was one of the most notable lyric poets of Italy in his time. Besides songs and ballads, he wrote: "Arsinda; or, the Line of the Princes d'Este," a drama; "The Isle of Alcina," a tragedy; an uncompleted epic, "Constantine"; "Italy," a poem in 43 stanzas in which he portrays the situation of Italy under the Spanish yoke. He died in Modena. Italy, Aug. 28, 1646. TESTING, the process of examining various substances by means of chemical reagents, with the view of discovering their composition. The term testing is usually confined to such examinations as seek to determine what chemical ele- ments or groups of elements are con- tained in any substance, without inquir- ing as to the quantity of these ele- ments. Testing is carried out either by the application of chemical reactions to solid substances, or by the application of reagents in solution to a solution of the substance under examination. TESTING CLAUSE, in Scotch law, the clause in a formal written deed or instrument by wJiich it is authenticated according to the form of law. It consists essentially of the name and designation of the writer, the number of pages of