REGULATOR. 



The g-ovemor or flying-ball is the regulator mod gene- 

 rally uffd in nracliinery, although there are other means 

 whieh, ill particular inftaiicca, are preferable, from the cir- 

 cunillance of their poilelUiig a greater power to operate 

 upon tlie regulating part of the machine. One oi thtfe, 

 called the water-regulator, confills of a pump, which, being 

 worked by the machine, will raife water into a ciltern, from 

 which a conftant llream flows off by a pipe and cock ; a 

 float is placed upon the furface of the water in the ciitern, 

 and this communicates with the fteam-valve of the engine, 

 or Ihuttle of the water-wheel. The operation of this regu- 

 lator is eafily explained, for the pump will raife a quantity 

 of water exaftly proportioned to the velocity of the machine, 

 or the number of ftrokes it makes ; whereas the Itream 

 which flows off' by the cock is a conllant quantity, and 

 equal to that which the pump will fupply when the machine 

 moves with its intended velocity. When this is the cafe, 

 the furface of water in the ciftern will iland at the fame 

 height ; but if the velocity is increafcd, the pump will raife 

 more water into the ciltern than the pipe and cock will 

 carry off, and the furface rifing, elevates the float, wliich, 

 by its aftion to dimmifh the fupply of power to the machine, 

 will correft the acceleration which ha* taken place in its 

 velocity. The oppofite effeifl takes place if llie veh)city 

 decreafes, -viz. that the fupply to the cillern being dimi- 

 niflied whilft the efflux is conllant, the furface will fink, 

 and tiie float defcending, opens the valve or fhuttle, and m- 

 creafes the fupply of power to the machine until it regains 

 the original velocity. The great advantage of this regu- 

 lator is, that it can fo readily be made to keep the machine 

 fteady at any velocity which may be required, and this 

 by merely opening or clofing the cock : thus, if it is 

 opened to carry off a greater quantity, the furface will 

 fubfide, and the float, by defcending, opens a greater fup- 

 ply of power to the machine, and occafions it to move 

 quicker ; but this, though it raifes more water by means 

 of the pump, will not raife the furface of the water in the 

 ciftern to fo great a height as it flood at before, becaufe 

 the efflux is now equal to the increafed fupply. 



In all cafes this regulator will caufe the machine to 

 work at fuch a rate, as to make the pump raife the fame 

 quantity of water as the cock emits, and its rate may be 

 afcertained before it is put to work ; for if the quantity of 

 water which the cock will difcharge in a minute, or other 

 given fpace of time, is known, and the dimenfions of the 

 pump ; then it may eafily be calculated what number of 

 ftrokes per minute the pump muft make to raife an equal 

 quantity of water. The fenfibility of this regulator will 

 be increafed by making the cittern of a fmall fize, becaufe 

 then any deviation from the intended rate of working will 

 caufe the greater elevation or depreffion of the furface, and 

 3 greater adtion on the float : and, for the fame purpofe, 

 it is beft to make the ciftern gradually diminifh in area, fo 

 as to be imallcr both towards the top and at the bottom, 

 than at the place where the furface is expefled to Hand 

 when the machine moves with the proper velocity. By 

 this means it will rife or fall more rapidly, in confequer.ee 

 of the diminilhed area of the ciftern, when the alteration of 

 velocity is confiderable, and a greater correftion is required, 

 than when the alteration is only trifling. It is necefi'ary 

 that the pump fhould raife a conftant ftream of water into 

 the ciltern, both in the afcent and defcent of its bucket : 

 to do this, two pumps, afting alternately, may be uled, or 

 by a very fimple contrivance a iin^tjle pump may be made 

 to effeft the fame ; thus, upon the rod of the pump a 

 cylinder of wood is fixed, which is of fuch a diameter, that 

 its area is equal to half the area of the pump-barrel, and its 



length being equal to the length thweof, its content will 

 be equal to one-half of the barrel : this is fixed on fuch a 

 part of the rod, that it will, by the rifing and falling of the 

 rod, be drawn up out of water as much as the rod and 

 oucket moves : now, when the pump-bucket is drawn up, 

 the rifing of the cylinder above the furface of the water 

 iiicreafes the capacity of the ciftern one-half as much as 

 the quantity of water which is thus drawn up into it, and 

 the efflux of water by the cock being juft equal to the 

 other half, the furface will be flationary ; and when the 

 bucket defcends, and no water is raifed, the cylinder going 

 dov\ II into the water diminifhes the capacity of the ciftern 

 a quantity equal to the quantity of water which will flow 

 off in the fame time, and thus fupplies the wafte of water 

 which flows off in the fame time. A regulator of this kind 

 may, in many cafes, be formed from fome part of the ma- 

 chine, without any additional apparatus : thus, the cold 

 water-pump of a fleam-engine will raife the neceffary water 

 into a ciftsni for the float to adl in, and this float muft be 

 connecK'd with the arm of the fteam-valve. Alfo, in an 

 engine for blowing a furnace, where it has a water-regulator 

 (fee Blowing), the rife of the water in the external tiftera 

 may regulate the motion of the engine, the whole machine 

 being of the fame kind with the regulator we have 

 defcribed. 



A regulator would be applied with great advantage to a 

 machine which is ufedin the Co/ton Makufactl'UE (fee that 

 article), for drawing a piece of cotton cloth regularly and 

 flowly over a red-hot cylinder of iron by two rollers, from 

 one of which it is wound to the other : now, if the men who 

 turn theie flop but for a moment the cloth is burnt through, 

 but by a regulator it might be hffcd off the hot iron the 

 inftant the motion was fo far diminifhed as to endanger the 

 firing of it. 



The water-regulator is rendered more powerful by fuf- 

 pending the ciitern from the end of a lever, like a fcale-btam, 

 the oppofite end of which has a counterpoife fufficient to 

 balance the weight of the ciftern when the water in it ftands 

 at the intended height ; but if the water increafes ii: the 

 ciftern from the caufes above defcribed, the box will defcend, 

 and the motion of the lever will adl upon the machine to 

 make the regulation the fame as the motion of the float : on 

 the other hand, when the water in the ciftern diminifhes, 

 the counterpoife will draw it up and give motion to the 

 lever. The water from the pump is introduced to the ciftern 

 by a fpout, and all the other parts have the fame conftrudlion 

 as we have defcribed. 



It is a defedl of both the regulators we have above de- 

 fcribed, that they do not operate upon the machine until the 

 alteration of velocity has adlually taken place, although they 

 immediately corredl it. It would be defirable to have others 

 which would make the corredlion before the evil takes place : 

 for inftance, in a wind-mill, which is more fubjedl to irregu- 

 larity than any other machine, a large vane may be fufpendeA 

 by a heavy pendulum, and oppofcd to the wind ; now the 

 force of the latter, when blowing regularly, will caufe the 

 pendulum to incline a certain quantity from the perpendi- 

 cular ; but if the wind increafes or diminifhes, it will incHne 

 mole or lefs, and this motion may be communicated to the 

 fhuttle which regulates the feed of corn, fo as to give more 

 or lefs to the Hones in proportion to the power of the wind 

 for grinding it, thus adapting the refiftance to the power; 

 and if this (hould mcreafe beyond all bounds, the fame motion 

 may be made to adl upon the grip of the mill to check its 

 acceleration effedlually. In the fame manner a water-wheel 

 may have a float placed in the dam or head to adt upon the 

 fhuttle whenever the furface thereof rifes or falls above or 



below 



