History of the Typewriter

— 113 — blocks seem to be out of proportion to the size of the bar, for the larger the bar, the smaller the type-block. Then again, that little projection, or lug, at the side of the bar, also seems to be out of proportion to the block, as the smaller the block, the larger or longer the lug. The outside bars, that is to say, those bars which are at the right and left extremities of the machine, are larger in size than those immediately adjoining them, and the latter, also, are larger than their next-door neighbours, and so on, and so on, until the innermost bars of all are reached. Now if we imagine a line from the type-block of the inner bars to the printing point, it is quite obvious that this line will not be nearly so long as one from the type-block of the outside bars to the same point would be. As the types have to travel over exactly the same space as those imaginary lines are drawn, it will be seen that the outer bars have to move at a very much higher rate of speed than the inner bars travel at, if they are to get to their destination—the printing point—in the same period of time. The lug at the side of the type-bar acts really as a lever, and the greater the leverage, the greater the speed of the travel of the bar. Inversely, of course, the inner bars have a much less distance to travel, and they therefore move more slowly than the outer bars. To secure this effect, the lugs are shortened, the leverage decreased and the travel impeded. The net result is, that the move- ments of the inner and outer bars are so accurately balanced that although they move at differing speeds, yet they both take exactly the same time to reach the paper after the key is depressed. And now with reference to the type-block. As we have seen, the inner blocks are big, and the outer ones small. Now it is well known that a weight, passing rapidly through space, gathers force and momentum as it proceeds. Thus, it has been stated that a farthing, if thrown from the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral, would gain such a fearful momentum in its travel that it would probably kill a man in the street were it to strike him. . Whether this be true or not, weight certainly does increase in this fashion, and if, therefore, a block of the same size as those on the inner bars were attached to the outer ones, they would gain such additional weight in their journey as to absolutely pierce the paper on the platen, and probably damage the latter also. But the skilful adjustment of weight and distance, leverage and travel, which we see in this bar, is no less wonderful than the shape of the bar itself. 8