In the new position b would tend to follow the direction of its point of support, whilst c would tend to fall in the opposite direction, and the bob of one pendulum would exercise a restraint upon the motion of the other.
A A and B B are concave mirrors having a common axis and their concavities facing each other.
But, apart from the diurnal fluctuations of consumption which may be equalized by local " service reservoirs," uniform distribution of supply throughout twelve months is rarely what we require; and to represent the demand in most towns correctly, we should increase the angle of this line to the horizontal during the summer and diminish it during the winter months, as indicated by the dotted lines b b.
The reservoir begins to fall at the end of February, and continues to do so with few and short exceptions until the end of August, and it so happens that about the end of August this dotted line, b b representing actual cumulative demand, crosses the straight line a a of uniform demand, so that the excess of demand, represented by the slope from June to September, is balanced by the deficiency of demand, represented by the flatter slope in the first five months, except as regards the small quantity b e near the end of February, which, not having been drawn off during January and February, must overflow before the end of February.
Not the slightest change in the direction of such a star when in this position has ever been detected, and it is certain that if any occurs it can be but a minute fraction of a second of arc. As an atmosphere equal to ours in density would produce a deviation of an important fraction of a degree, it may be said that the moon can have no atmosphere exceeding in density the b b l o o that of the earth.
