Monday, December 19, 2022

Balls Out, doesn't mean what you think, but it IS directly related to high speed, just not naked man parts blowing in the wind at high velocity


the speed governor of steam era equipment especially, had a pair of balls, on a pair of struts, and the faster the machine was spinning, the faster the balls would spin, and centrifugal force would cause them to lift, and separate, and at the highest speed, give a fast visual indication of the maxed out speed of the machine



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2 comments:

  1. Marc B9:30 AM

    Similarly, "Balls to the wall" comes from aircraft throttle levers. It is possible this phrase was coined before or during World War Two by American aircraft pilots. The throttle levers (accelerators) in the aircraft had round tops that looked like balls. To put the "balls to the wall" (the wall being the firewall in the aircraft) was to advance the levers all the way forward, making the aircraft fly as fast as possible.

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  2. Poncho-Train Sailor9:52 AM

    I am surprised that he didn't mention diesel engines. Until recently, all diesels had mechanical governors.. now, a few have electronic

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