The isochronous governor is not of practical use because the sleeve will move to one of its extreme positions immediately the speed deviates from the isochronous speed.

The sensitiveness is defined as the ratio of the difference between the maximum and minimum equilibrium speeds to the mean equilibrium speed.

The effort of a governor is the mean force exerted at the sleeve for a given percentage change of speed (or lift of the sleeve).

A governor is said to be isochronous when the equilibrium speed is constant (i.e. range of speed is zero) for all radii of rotation of the balls within the working range, neglecting friction. The isochronism is the stage of infinite sensitivity.

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A governor is said to be stable when for every speed within the working range there is a definite configuration i.e. there is only one radius of rotation of the governor balls at which the governor is in equilibrium. For a stable governor, if the equilibrium speed increases, the radius of governor balls must also increase.

A governor is said to be unstable, if the radius of rotation decreases as the speed increases.

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A governor is said to be hunt if the speed of the engine fluctuates continuously above and below the mean speed. This is caused by a too sensitive governor which changes the fuel supply by a large amount when a small change in the speed of rotation takes place.

In general, the greater the lift of the sleeve corresponding to a given fractional change in speed, the greater is the sensitiveness of the governor.