ABSTRACT
IN regulating a ‘ grandfather’s’ clock, the weight on the end of the pendulum is moved up or down; the shorter the distance between it and the centre upon which it swings, the quicker the swing; to slow the clock the weight is moved further down the rod. To set two clocks so that they may keep exactly together, the weights must be accurately arranged. The difficulty of this process with even a few clocks is enormous. In the case of an engine where the load is constantly changing, the ‘governor’ acts as an automatic harmoniser of engine-revolutions and load. With a new engine, where some of the parts may be rather a tight fit, the driver expects to spend some time running it in, so that the discordant vibrations due to friction may be overcome and the engine run sweetly. Probably he will find a critical speed, at which the engine runs best: it is the speed at which the vibrations of the moving parts are best harmonised. Some motor-buses and taxis at present plying for hire take years off the life of the driver by the discords they produce: an effective Ministry of Health would insist on their being overhauled or withdrawn from service, and a general public with a desire for harmony would leave them empty. 1
