Editing Centrifugal governor (section)

===Non-gravitational regulation===
A limitation of the two-arm, two-ball governor is its reliance on gravity to retract the balls when the governor slows down, and therefore a requirement that the governor stay upright.

Governors can be built that do not use gravitational force, by using a single straight arm with weights on both ends, a center pivot attached to a spinning axle, and a spring that tries to force the weights towards the center of the spinning axle. The two weights on opposite ends of the pivot arm counterbalance any gravitational effects, but both weights use centrifugal force to work against the spring and attempt to rotate the pivot arm towards a perpendicular axis relative to the spinning axle.

Spring-retracted non-gravitational governors are commonly used in [[Single-phase electric power|single-phase]] [[alternating current]] (AC) [[induction motor]]s to turn off the starting [[field coil]] when the motor's rotational speed is high enough. They are also commonly used in [[snowmobile]] and [[all-terrain vehicle]] (ATV) [[continuously variable transmission]]s (CVT), both to engage/disengage vehicle motion and to vary the transmission's pulley diameter ratio in relation to the engine [[revolutions per minute]].