governor cut-off

1 definition found

governor cut-off - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Governor \Gov"ern*or\, n. [OE. governor, governour, OF.
     governeor, F. gouverneur, fr. L. gubernator steersman, ruler,
     governor. See Govern.]
     1. One who governs; especially, one who is invested with the
        supreme executive authority in a State; a chief ruler or
        magistrate; as, the governor of Pennsylvania. "The
        governor of the town." --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. One who has the care or guardianship of a young man; a
        tutor; a guardian.
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     3. (Naut.) A pilot; a steersman. [R.]
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     4. (Mach.) A contrivance applied to steam engines, water
        wheels, and other machinery, to maintain nearly uniform
        speed when the resistances and motive force are variable.
  
     Note: The illustration shows a form of governor commonly used
           for steam engines, in wich a heavy sleeve (a) sliding
           on a rapidly revolving spindle (b), driven by the
           engine, is raised or lowered, when the speed varies, by
           the changing centrifugal force of two balls (c c) to
           which it is connected by links (d d), the balls being
           attached to arms (e e) which are jointed to the top of
           the spindle. The sleeve is connected with the throttle
           valve or cut-off through a lever (f), and its motion
           produces a greater supply of steam when the engine runs
           too slowly and a less supply when too fast.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     Governor cut-off (Steam Engine), a variable cut-off gear in
        which the governor acts in such a way as to cause the
        steam to be cut off from entering the cylinder at points
        of the stroke dependent upon the engine's speed.
  
     Hydraulic governor (Mach.), a governor which is operated by
        the action of a liquid in flowing; a cataract.
        [1913 Webster]