Note 168 — Chapter XII · STEAM NAVIGATION—THE ‘GREAT EASTERN’ STEAM-SHIP. THE LAUNCH. A.D. 1857—1858. ÆTATIS 52.

At this time the friction when the ship was in motion was not much greater than it had been on previous occasions; but, the adhesion being greatly increased, a large excess of power became stored up in the elasticity of the abutments and the chains. This excess of power, on the ship commencing to move, discharged itself in giving her velocity, and therefore she moved by short slips, instead of by a gradual motion, as had been the case previously, when the resistance due to friction and that due to adhesion had been more nearly equal. For observations on the friction, see note A at the end of the chapter.