governor

governor, device

governor, automatic device used to regulate and control such variables as speed or pressure in the functioning of an engine or other machine. A governor may be an electric, hydraulic, or mechanical device, or it may employ some combination of electric, hydraulic, and mechanical components. The constant-speed governor serves to keep the speed of an engine constant under changes in load and other disturbances. It is very often a mechanical device, employing centrifugal force. Such a governor contains weights, called flyballs, each attached to the end of an arm. The arms are arranged, like the spokes of wheels, around a central spindle and are connected to the inlet valve (commonly called the governor valve). The flyballs are so attached that they move away from the spindle as the speed increases (decreasing the fuel or steam to the inlet) and come closer to the spindle as the speed decreases (increasing the fuel or steam), thereby keeping the speed constant. Varying degrees of closure and the speeds at which they are to occur can be set in advance. Where changes are required while an engine is in operation, a variable-speed governor is employed. A governor-synchronizing device is used to equalize the speed of two or more engines driving electric generators before they engage the generators. In order to control the speed of some engines, a governor's output must be strengthened by connecting the output to a hydraulic amplifier.

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governor, in government

governor, chief executive of a dependent or component unit in a political system. In the United States, a governor is the chief executive of each state and is elected by the people of the state. In the British, French, and Dutch empires a governor was traditionally appointed to rule over each of the colonies. Governors in the United States originally lacked much power. They were often subordinate to the state legislatures and had little control over administrative agencies. However, political reforms in the early 20th cent. shifted power from the legislative to the executive branches of state governments, and today governors are among the most powerful political figures in the United States. At the National Governors Conference, developed from a meeting called (1908) by President Theodore Roosevelt, the nation's governors meet annually to discuss common political and governmental problems.

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governor

In technology, a device that automatically maintains the rotary speed of an engine within reasonably close limits regardless of the load. A typical governor regulates an engine's speed by varying the rate at which fuel or working fluid is furnished to it. Nearly all governors work by centrifugal force and consist of a pair of masses rotating about a spindle driven by the engine and kept from flying outward, usually by springs. With an increase in speed, the controlling force of the springs is overcome and the masses move outward, opening valves supplying the engine with its working fluid or fuel. James Watt invented a governor for controlling steam engines. Modern governors are used to regulate the flow of gasoline to internal-combustion engines and the flow of steam, water, or gas to various types of turbines. See also flywheel.

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governor

1. the ruler or chief magistrate of a colony, province, etc.

2. the representative of the Crown in a British colony

3. Brit the senior administrator or head of a society, prison, etc.

4. the chief executive of any state in the US

5. Engineering a device that controls the speed of an engine, esp by regulating the supply of fuel, etc., either to limit the maximum speed or to maintain a constant speed

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governor [′gəv·ə·nər]

(mechanical engineering)

A device, especially one actuated by the centrifugal force of whirling weights opposed by gravity or by springs, used to provide automatic control of speed or power of a prime mover.