3: Regulating Power

To concentrate the forces of nature and improve their power alone is not enough to make productive use of them. As the example of the plugged gun from the previous chapter suggests, the force must also be directed and regulated.

A simple hammer, directed with the appropriate amount of force, drives a nail into a timber without damaging it. Apply too much power and the nail is driven too deeply, the timber may be damaged or even hacked apart. Productive use of force does not merely require might, but careful regulation so that the power is exerted in the appropriate degree to accomplish a task - neither too much nor too little.

A steam locomotive pulls a train quickly, but sends it off the rails if it runs too fast. Even a simple manufacturing device such as a grindstone or spinning wheel will damage the material if it is operated at too great a force or velocity.

(EN: And again, Babbage belabors the point with detailed examples, then mentions specific devices that are used to control power or speed, and the like. The point has already been well made and the rest is rumination.)