Spring (mechanical)

“ Not far distant is a piece of metal, the flat side of which is ever turned by the weather-cock to meet the full force of the wind, which, blowing upon it, drives it back against a spring. To this spring is affixed a chain passing over, pullies toward another pencil, fixed above a sheet of [Pg 235] paper, and moving faithfully, more or less, as the wind blows harder or softer. ”

“ It is of great importance that the spring should be of uniform thickness throughout its breadth ; and the bottom of the chops which carry it should be exactly horizontal ; otherwise the pendulum will swing with a twist, as they may he often seen to do in ill-made clocks. If the bottom of the chops is left sharp, where they clip the spring, it is very likely to break there ”

“ Our present springs diminish the force of jolts, transform a sudden shock into a long vibration; but the perfect spring ought always to maintain a constant elastic force, to allow wheels and axles all the vibrations which the ground demands of them, without allowing any of these shocks to reach the carriage itself. ”

“ My theory is that the rapid rotation and progression has the effect of compressing the air, so as to act like a spring, and, when the strength of spring has overcome the impressing force, then the weapon is impelled in a new direction compounded of several forces. ”

“ These things will be found true in spring and autumn, when the air is rarefied by the gentle warmth of those seasons, and by that means its elastic force becomes comes somewhat more intense. But in winter, when the air is condensed by the cold, and its elastic force is somewhat remitted, the motion of sounds will be slower in a subduplicate ratio of the density ”

“ The strength of a perfectly tempered spring will always remain the same, whether in winter or summer, never losing its elasticity. The best of tempering, however, is useless in a spring badly formed or clumsily tapered. ”

“ Springs occupy much less room than weights, and are indispensable for portable timepieces. The employment of them [Pg 414] caused trouble to early experimenters on account of the decrease in power which necessarily accompanies the uncoiling of a wound-up spring. ”

“ Compensation for changes of temperature are self-effected, with almost perfect accuracy, by the elastic force of the spring being so adjusted to that of the air in the cylinder, that the loss of force in the one and the increased expansive force of the other shall, independently of changes of atmospheric pressure, preserve the lever in equilibrio. ”

“ In virtue of its springy nature, the elastic rod reacts on the pressure of force that has bent it, and endeavors to regain its former position. The spiral spring sets the works of the clock in motion in virtue of its elasticity. ”

“ That is the word, sir, cogitate. Springs is caused in the first place by atmospheric pressure on the earth's top. Space is nothin' but air. There is so many other earths in it, that the air gets squeezed, as it were. ”

“ For as in a round Spring there is required an additional pressure against two opposite sides, to reduce it into an Oval Form, or to force it in between the sides of a Hole, whose Diameter is less then that of the Spring, there must be a considerable force or protrusion against the concave or inner side of the Spring; So to alter this spherical constitution of an included fluid body, there is required more pressure against opposite sides to reduce it into an Oval ”

“ The elliptic spring is sometimes used single in what are called under-spring carriages, where the spring rests on the axle and is connected with the framework of the body with an imitation spring or dumb iron to complete the ellipse. ”

“ This spring, with its adjustment, is intended to have a duplex action, covering the double effect of either raising or depressing the beams carrying the shovels. The curvature of the spring is such that, as it moves along the groove of the roller, it presses against the latter at different points of its periphery, and thereby the direction of its action is shifted or changed as the position of the swinging beam is changed. ”

“ It is considered that the spring is elastic, is flexed under the body by muscular action, and, being retained in this position {192}of restraint by the catch, when the latter is removed the spring extends by reason of its elasticity, and the leap is thus executed. ”

“ A quick variation, or a periodic variation of the magnitude of the force or torque transmitted through the springs, tends to set up oscillations, and this tendency increases the nearer the periodic time of the force variation approaches a periodic time of the spring. ”

“ Where underground streams which are common in limestone regions reach the surface on hill or valley sides, springs result. Another source of springs is where under proper conditions of slope a porous rock layer, charged with water well below the surface, appears at a lower level than its source of water. Still another type of spring is where a fissure or fracture crosses a water-bearing layer in which the pressure is great enough to cause the water to rise to the surface along the relatively open fissure or fracture. ”

“ In cold temperatures the pendulum spring is contracted, making the vibrations quicker, but the contraction of the brass rim draws the free end outwards, thus increasing its diameter, retarding its vibrations, and counteracting the effect of the contraction of the pendulum spring. ”

“ Spring, in a general acceptation, an elastic body; a body which when bent, or distorted, has the power of restoring itself to its former state. It is in general a piece of tempered metal, which by means of its elastic force, is useful in several machines to give them motion. In a gun lock the springs are distinguished by various appellations according to their several uses, viz. ”

“ As the tension of the steel spring varies with the temperature, aneroids are usually compensated for temperature by having one of the levers made of two different metals, e.g., brass and iron, soldered together, or else by leaving a small quantity of air in the vacuum chamber. This air, when heated, expands, and thus tends to compensate for the weaker action of the spring, due to the higher temperature. ”

“ That the descent is a mechanical effect of the whirlwind, which creating a vacuum, or high degree of rarefaction, extending between the clouds and the earth, the clouds descend in it by their gravity, or by the pressure of the surrounding clouds or air. That the convolutions of the descending mass, and the sensible whirlwind felt at the earth, as well as the appearance of the commencement, increase and decrease of the mass, all demonstrate the whirl of the air to be the mechanical cause. ”

“ These springs are supposed to follow Hooke’s law. If the elongation beyond the natural length of a spring is λ, the force asserted by it is p = kλ. Let for the position of equilibrium l, L be respectively the elongation of a small and the large spring, k, K their constants, then
Fig. ”

“ Evidently, if the spring is strong enough to more than lift the leg, a loss of power will159 result, since the rider would have to hold it in check even in coming up in order to keep it from stopping with a bang, as is sometimes noticed when he jumps from a treadle machine. The winding and unwinding of the spring involves no loss of power except in heat incident to motion and imperfect elasticity, which is quite small. ”

“ An undermotion of this kind is illustrated at Fig. 96. The spring is fixed at A, and a wire hook connects the spring with the quadrant at B. It will easily be seen that as the stave lifts, the direction of the pull of the spring is gradually moved over the centre of the quadrant at C. If the stave were lifted until the spring was in a direct line from A to C, the pull on the stave would be nil, as all the force would be exerted on the fulcrum. ”

“ The amount, taken by itself, of vapour, moisture, wet, rain, or snow, in the wind, or current of air (direction and strength remaining the same) seems to cause a change amounting, in an extreme case, to about half an inch.
3rd. The strength or force alone of wind, from any quarter (moisture and direction being unchanged) is preceded, and foretold, or accompanied by a fall or rise, according as the strength will be greater or less, ranging, in an extreme case, to more than 2 inches. ”

“ Snow-flakes fall gently upon your shoulders, and you are required to perform an insensible amount of work to resist the crushing effect of each flake; but, suppose that all the snow that has fallen upon your head and shoulders for the last ten years was welded together in one solid mass of ice, weighing perhaps one hundred pounds, and that it should descend with the velocity of a snow-flake upon you, an immense effort would be required to prevent its crushing you, even if you were able to withstand the shock at all. ”

“ The lower atmospheric strata are retarded by friction against the earth, and the upper ones by those immediately below them; the velocity of translation, therefore, in the case of wind, increases from the ground upward. This difference of velocity tilts the sound-wave upward in a direction opposed to, and downward in a direction coincident with, the wind. ”

“ The elasticity of the air and its frictional inertia when running in the form of wind cause the current to proceed on its course after a very slight check, which in point of time is momentary and in its effects almost infinitesimal. ”

“ Our engravings illustrate an improved compound car-spring, which appears to possess all the requisites of a first-class spring, combining in its construction extreme simplicity with great strength, and a feature whereby the power of the spring increases with increase of the load, and vice versâ, so that its flexibility remains nearly constant for all loads. ”

“ It has also been proved that the surface portions move more rapidly than the deeper layers and that the motion is slowest at the sides and bottom where friction is greatest.
The rate of motion past the same spot is not uniform. Heat accelerates it, cold arrests it, and the pressure of a large amount of water stimulates the flow. ”

“ Moreover, the weather map does not indicate the true flow of the air, for observations of the wind made at the [Pg 28] ground tell only a part of the story of the balance which the flowing air must maintain under the action of various forces, such as gravitation, rotational deflection, centrifugal tendency, and the various expansion and compression forces.
The winds near the ground are modified both in velocity and direction by friction. The free flow is often interfered with by topography. ”

“ But then the wind at the high-pressure area is lighter than it is at the low, and circles outwardly until it finally moves off in the direction of a low-pressure area, gradually bending in the other direction until finally it moves the reverse of the hands of a clock—although now it is in a smaller circle, and with a more rapid motion. It moves spirally and upwardly about the low-pressure area until it reaches a point in the upper air, where it goes through the same gyrations in an opposite direction. ”

“ Any body liberated in still air will fall vertically with a velocity which increases according to well-known laws until the increasing resistance of the air to its passage equals the effect due to gravity; it thenceforward continues to fall at a uniform velocity, that velocity depending upon the nature of the falling body. In all seeds which are sufficiently light to be at all suitable for wind dispersal, the resistance of the air almost at once counteracts acceleration due to gravity, so that the rate of fall may be taken as uniform from the beginning. ”

“ The winding and unwinding of the spring is alternating and almost instantaneous, as the balance oscillates from one extreme to the other. For observation of the spring when it is wound or unwound it is necessary to stop the balance with the finger or camel's hair brush as it reaches its extreme arc of motion, then hold it stationary for a few seconds while the space between the coils is being examined. ”

“ This idea of atmospheric braking on a grand scale had sounded possible at first suggestion, half a year ago—a little like a man falling off a mountain or from a plane and saving his life by dropping into a great thickness of feathery new-fallen snow. ”

“ This increase of temperature is due to the mechanical force due to the fall, and is no more an evidence of the conversion of motion into heat, than is the old experiment of rubbing a button until it becomes hot. At all events, the fact that a given amount of mechanical force always produces an equivalent of heat is as applicable to the idea of a “subtile elastic medium” which is diffused through all matter, as to the, at present, favourite hypothesis. ”

“ The spring is entirely concealed within the material of the glove, and may be secured to the latter in any suitable manner; but I prefer to simply stitch it in place, as indicated by the dotted lines, x, in Fig. 1. The spring may also be variously shaped; but I prefer to construct it of a single piece of wire, bent to the form shown, as I have ascertained, by experiment, that a spring of this form is most suitable for the purpose, while it possesses the further advantage of presenting no sharp or abrupt ends, which would be apt to force their way through the material of the glove. ”

“ The force of the wind gives the cups a rotary motion in a horizontal plane, which causes the vertical rod to revolve and record by connecting mechanism and dials the velocity of the wind in miles per hour. Near the center of the roof may be seen a vessel with a funnel shaped top into which the rain falls and is measured to ascertain the depth in inches, of which accurate record is kept. ”