The Legend of Bessler’s (Orffyreus’s) Wheel - The Facts

 The Legend of Bessler’s Wheel or the Orffyreus Wheel and the verifiable facts.

Some fifty years ago, after I had established (to my satisfaction at least) that Bessler’s claim to have invented a perpetual motion machine was genuine, I decided to obtain as many verifiable facts pertaining to the legend of Bessler’s wheel as possible.  I believe that my publications below provide a summary of all the information available, but I should mention that I have made considerable progress in deciphering some of the inventor’s coded information, none of this is in the books detailed below, but you visit some of my other websites which give plenty of details.  This information is alluded to several times in his books, but it has taken many years of careful study to make sense of only some of it. Having said that there is considerable speculation about the various ciphers embedded in his works but most are too speculative to accept.

I think that the more we speculate the more confusion we can add. Speculation can be taken as fact and if further ideas are added that can compound the problem. I’m not promoting my books as the ultimate source of information on Bessler because there are so many historical documents which remain unexplored due to their poor condition or because they are lost in numerous private libraries. But for now they provide a quick and easy source of information on Johann Bessler and his perpetual motion machine.

Even though I published my biography of Johann Bessler several years ago, the information in it has not altered, because it is based on old documents written more than 300 years ago. There are new additional facts which need to be added at some point but they are details about his later life and although of interest do not impinge on the history of his perpetual motion machine. There are also Bessler’s own books which he published which cover his life in his own words and provide much information. The only other thing relevant to his story which I didn’t publish are two critiques written by his enemy, Christian Wagner and they are freely available in English at my main website, see below.

What follows is a list of my books, all but my biography were originally produced by Bessler to which I added a full English translation. The books are available in both hard copy and also as a digital PDF file.  The digital file allows easy searches for words and names.

I hope that people will continue to use these books as a source of accurate information in their journey of discovery to find the solution to Bessler’s wheel.

1) “Perpetual Motion: An Ancient Mystery Solved?”  View the synopsis for details of the book’s contents at my web site. http://www.free-energy.co.uk/html/synopsis.html.  Briefly it is an account taken from of every document relating to Bessler that I could find from files held in museums around the world, researched and translated. 

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2) “Apologia Poetica”   This was Bessler’s account of his life up until the time of Karl the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel’s patronage. The book contains the original German transcribed into a modern font and includes a full English translation at the rear. I would have preferred to include the original German font but it was in such poor condition that it would have been unreadable. This book contains some allusions to secret codes hidden within the book itself.  

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3) “Das Triumphans Perpetuum Mobile “- this was Bessler’s most professionally finished book. It was written in both German and Latin and this edition is a faithful reproduction of the actual pages of the original book. It also includes a full English translation at the rear. A number of drawings are included by the original author and these are said to contain a number of clues as to his machine’s workings.

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4) “Gruendlicher Bericht” - this was Bessler’s first publication, ostensibly produced by a friend although I think one can detect Bessler’s handiwork in places. This copy is also in the original German and includes a full English translation at the rear. It also includes the very first drawing which Bessler published and this also contains clues to the way his machine worked.

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5) “Maschinen Tractate” - this was found in the Bessler’s possessions after his death, in the form of a number of pages (141) and which contained a message on the front of the volume which stated that he had removed the drawings which depicted how his machine worked but that some one with a penetrating mind could by studying several drawings ultimately discover the secret of its construction. I have reproduced the drawings as they were found.  I included his handwritten notes with the best translation I could obtain, since the writing is very hard to read.

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You can also read Christian Wagner’s two critiques of Bessler’s wheel at my main web site.

 Copies of all the above books can be obtained from my web site at 

Books available from www.free-energy.co.uk    

Alternatively you can use the buttons in the lower part of the right side panel under the heading, ‘My Publications’, which also takes you to a payment page.

There are some excellent additional resources and a forum for discussion at the  

Besslerwheel forum

The best German web site is at http://www.besslerrad.de/html/bekannte_details.html

That’s all.  Of course some people prefer to continue their research into perpetual motion machines without referring to Bessler’s own efforts and I respect that, but for those who like to have the information relating to Johann Bessler aka Orffyreus to hand in an easily accessible format, the books detailed above provide a good digital resource.

Update on my Proof of Principle Model of Bessler’s Wheel.

Someone emailed me to ask me why I didn’t visit the Besslerwheel forum any more and why was my blog silent about my work?

Well I visit the forum everyday but find that I have little reason to comment.  I have rarely come across anything that hasn’t been commented on countless times in the past and the authors seem to be very few in number these days, although they sometimes have excellent discussions with interesting topics.  

There is a lot of commentary on the English translations done for me by my friend Mike Senior, not so much finding fault as much as trying to squeeze extra information from the translations using modern translators.  I have no objection to this, it might be helpful, but I recall Mike’s advice to me when he agreed to translate everything.  

The text was written 300 years ago in a foreign language by a man who was born into a peasant family.  No criticism intended, but his culture would have used colloquialisms, slang, numerous idioms and of course common terminology - unknown to us.  Nuances in meaning vary in all languages including German and English.  So using Mike’s translations provided in a form which he believed gives the most likely meaning is probably as near as we can get to Bessler’s thoughts.  Not that Mike didn’t make mistakes , I’m sure he did, but in my opinion it’s still the best we have. Modern translators use modern German as their baseline - I doubt they could use the German of Bessler’s day to get modern English - even the English of the 1700s differs markably to today’s language.

Visit this website for numerous examples of how English word meanings have changed or even reversed their meanings.  It’s called semantics and it is common to all languages.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_change#:~:text=Semantic%20change%20(also%20semantic%20shift,different%20from%20the%20original%20usage.

The other question about this blog - why is it so silent? Good question, I hoped too have some real answers relatively quickly.

Time passes at an ever increasing speed and my intention was to have one final go at building a working model of Bessler’s wheel, before my 79th birthday, but it seems to have been blown off course by the winds of time.  I thought that with all the rain we’ve been having, I could work on Bessler's wheel in my garage/workshop secure in the knowledge that working outside on my wife’s exterior plans was out of the question.  Oops, I had forgotten a list of interior jobs I had promised to deal with asap.  Anyway to quote from “Gone with the Wind”, the last line of the book reads, “tomorrow is another day”.  So tomorrow has come…..a bit. Now I’m able to spend, at least some time on the wheel, I believe there are no more excuses left for me but to finish this job once and for all!

So from now on I’ll be working on it, but continuing to fulfil my other commitments, by working round them, hopefully.  I’ll have a better idea of a finishing date after a few days.

Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” I guess the same applies to me/us, but my confidence in this design is high and even if it doesn’t work, I will share it here in case anyone’s interested. I do think it is the same as Bessler’s but rather than try to explain it I’ll simply post photos and videos of it once it’s ready. This is not a new design for me because I’ve been studying it for almost a year, but there have been minor alterations and adjustments to make, not to mention the old pieces of previous mechanisms I’m using up which require extensive alterations. 

But perhaps these are just excuses for my procrastination? Maybe I can always find other things to do, which I convince myself, are more important, more urgent ….and easier! Or as someone suggested, the reason for the delay is apparently, that  I fear the outcome which will end in another failure.  That at least is not true, I always anticipate success even though, like Thomas Edison, I’ve found 10,00O, ways of making a stationary wheel.  I’m just getting older and it takes more of an effort to keep working, but I’m definitely going to finish this one as soon as I can.

JC

The True Story of Bessler’s Perpetual Motion Machine.

On 6th June, 1712, in Germany, Johann Bessler (also known by his pseudonym, Orffyreus) announced that after many years of failure, he had succeeded in designing and building a perpetual motion machine. For more than fourteen years he exhibited his machine and allowed people to thoroughly examine the outside of it, but it’s internal workings were kept hidden. This was because the inventor feared that his design would be copied and someone else might obtain credit for all his years of hard work looking for the solution. He followed the advice from the famous scientist, Gottfried Leibniz, who was able to examine the device, and recommended a number of demonstrations and tests designed to prove the validity of his machine without giving away the secret of its design.

Karl the Landgrave of Hesse permitted Bessler to live, work and exhibit his machine at the prince's castle of Weissenstein. Karl was a man of unimpeachable reputation and he insisted on being allowed to verify the inventor's claims before he allowed Bessler to take up residence. This the inventor reluctantly agreed to and once he had examined the machine to his own satisfaction Karl authorised the publication of his approval of the machine. For several years Bessler was visited by numerous people of varying status, scientists, ministers and royalty. Several official examinations were carried out and each time the examiners concluded that the inventor's claims were genuine.

Over a number of years Karl aged and it was decided that after so long it was time the inventor left the castle and he was granted accommodation in the nearby town of Karlshafen. Despite the strong circumstantial evidence that his machine was genuine, Bessler failed to secure a sale and after more than thirty years he died in poverty. His death came after he fell from a windmill he had been commissioned to build. The windmill was an interesting design using a vertical axle which allowed it to benefit from winds from any directions. 

He had asked for a huge sum of money for the secret of his perpetual motion machine, £20,000 which was an amount thought only affordable by kings and princes, and although many were interested, none were prepared to agree to the terms of the deal. Bessler required that he be given the money before the buyer was allowed to view the internal workings of the machine. But those who sought to purchase the wheel, for that was the form the machine took, insisted that they see the secret mechanism before they parted with the money. Bessler feared that once the design was known the buyers could simply walk away knowing how to build his machine and he would get nothing for his trouble. 

I became curious about the legend of Bessler’s Wheel, while still in my teens, and have spent most of my life researching the life of Johann Bessler (I’m now 78). I obtained copies of all his books and had them translated into English and self-published them, in the hope that either myself or someone else might solve the secret and present it to the world in this time of pollution, global warming and increasingly limited energy resources.

Not long after I was able to read the English translations of his books, I realised that Bessler had embedded a number of clues in his books. These took the form of hints in the text, but also in a number of drawings he published and I found suggestions by the author that studying his books would reveal enough information about his wheel,to allow “someone with an acute and discerning mind, to build one”.

For some ideas about Bessler’s code why not visit my web sites at 

http://www.theorffyreuscode.com/

Take a look at my work on his “Declaration of Faith” at 

http://www.orffyreus.net/

Also please view my video at 

https://youtu.be/5BWVKtpuzn0

It gives a brief account both the legend and some more detail about some of the codes.

The problem of obtaining a fair reward for all his hard work was anticipated by Bessler and he took extraordinary measures to ensure that his secret was safe, but he encoded all the information needed to reconstruct the machine in a small number of books that he published. He implied that he was prepared to die without selling the secret and that he believed that posthumous acknowledgement was preferable to being robbed of his secret while he yet lived.


It has recently become clear that Bessler had a huge knowledge of the history of codes and adopted several completely different ones to disguise information within his publications. I have made considerable advances in deciphering his codes and I am confident that I have the complete design.


Johann Bessler published three books, and digital copies of these with English translations may be obtained from the links to the right of this blog. In addition there is a copy of his unpublished document containing some 141 drawings - and also my own account of Bessler’s life is also available from the links. It is called "Perpetual Motion; An Ancient Mystery Solved?" 

This biography contains a wealth of information about Bessler himself, as well as many quotes by Bessler and letters to him or about him from many interested parties. It tells of his life up to and including his years with Karl the Landgrave of Hesse Kassel, and what happened to him later.

Bessler's three published books are entitled "Grundlicher Bericht", "Apologia Poetica” and "Das Triumphirende...".

I have called Bessler's collection of 141 drawings “Maschinen Tractate”, but it was originally found in the form of a number of loosely collected drawings of perpetual motion designs. Many of these have handwritten notes attached and I have published the best English translation of them that I was able to get. Bessler never published these drawings but clearly intended to use them in his planned school for apprentices.

You can order copies of the books from my website at 

http://www.free-energy.co.uk/

Printed books direct from the printer can be obtained from here

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/johncollins

Or from the top of the right side panel under the heading ‘Bessler’s Books’.

There are also links lower down on the right side panel.

These books contain the most important information available if you seek to find the solution to Bessler’s wheel.

JC

Bessler’s Perpetual Motion Machine

Almost everyone has what one might call their own ‘thing’, maybe a hobby or an obsession, but it’s something that captures their attention and interest -  and my own ‘thing’ involves trying to verify the claims of Johann Bessler (aka Orffyreus).  After almost half a century of research in a number of famous institutions holding numerous ancient books and documents, I have been able to establish that in the years approaching 1712, Johann Bessler’s did indeed build a successful working model of a perpetual motion machine.  Despite the assumption that such machines are impossible it has become obvious that his claims were genuine.

My first shadow of doubt about the establishment’s view on this matter came when I read an explanation attempting to show how his machine was faked; it was so badly written and so full of false assumptions and unbelievable mistakes, that I questioned the underlying evidence relied upon and I believe it was almost entirely guesswork.

Surely such a device if false, should be easy enough to prove an illicit imposition. Such fraudulent devices are the target of many investigators who are usually are well equipped to test the credibility of the claimant.  Bessler frequently experienced such negative reactions at his first exhibitions, but was able, through the help of one of the most famous scientists of the era, Gottfried Leibniz, to plan a number of demonstrations which would prove to be impossible to reject, as convincing evidence of the inventor’s integrity.

In addition he permitted a man of unimpeachable reputation who was widely respected to examine the interior workings of the machine in order to confirm or deny its validity.  Karl, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel was able to verify Bessler’s claims. So what are we to make of this apparent paradox?

Between 1842 and 1847 Julius Robert von Mayer, James Prescott Joule and Herman von Helmholtz discovered and formulated the basics of what we refer to as the law of conservation of energy.  Energy can’t be created or destroyed, it can only be transformed from form to another.

But in their denial of the possibility of a gravity enabled continuous motion machine, though their reasoning was logical it failed to take into account every possible configuration that might over ride their conclusion.  This fallacy has been questioned countless times, and from a time long before it was first mooted.  There are records of hundreds of attempts to produce a perpetual motion machine reliant on the force of gravity for its energy source.  

One argument suggests that because no such machine has ever been invented, it must be impossible.  If that conclusion were convincing most of the current inventions in use today would never have happened.  But Johann Bessler did find the solution and there should therefore be a concerted attempt to find it again.  The potential for such a device is unlimited in this era of climate change, pollution, and the limited sources of alternative energy.

Bessler encoded information in his books which he intended to be found and deciphered in the event of his death before he had sold his machine.  It is available from this blog and my other web sites where each of his four books with full English translations are detailed. See the right hand panel for more information.

JC

The True Story of Johann Bessler and His Perpetual Motion.

 On 6th June, 1712, in Germany, Johann Bessler (also known by his pseudonym, Orffyreus) announced that after many years of failure, he had succeeded in designing and building a perpetual motion machine. For more than fourteen years he exhibited his machine and allowed people to thoroughly examine the outside of it, but it’s internal workings were kept hidden. This was because the inventor feared that his design would be copied and someone else might obtain credit for all his years of hard work looking for the solution. He followed the advice from the famous scientist, Gottfried Leibniz, who was able to examine the device, and recommended a number of demonstrations and tests designed to prove the validity of his machine without giving away the secret of its design.

Karl the Landgrave of Hesse permitted Bessler to live, work and exhibit his machine at the prince's castle of Weissenstein. Karl was a man of unimpeachable reputation and he insisted on being allowed to verify the inventor's claims before he allowed Bessler to take up residence. This the inventor reluctantly agreed to and once he had examined the machine to his own satisfaction Karl authorised the publication of his approval of the machine. For several years Bessler was visited by numerous people of varying status, scientists, ministers and royalty. Several official examinations were carried out and each time the examiners concluded that the inventor's claims were genuine.

Over a number of years Karl aged and it was decided that after so long it was time the inventor left the castle and he was granted accommodation in the nearby town of Karlshafen. Despite the strong circumstantial evidence that his machine was genuine, Bessler failed to secure a sale and after more than thirty years he died in poverty. His death came after he fell from a windmill he had been commissioned to build. The windmill was an interesting design using a vertical axle which allowed it to benefit from winds from any directions. 

He had asked for a huge sum of money for the secret of his perpetual motion machine, £20,000 which was an amount thought only affordable by kings and princes, and although many were interested, none were prepared to agree to the terms of the deal. Bessler required that he be given the money before the buyer was allowed to view the internal workings of the machine. But those who sought to purchase the wheel, for that was the form the machine took, insisted that they see the secret mechanism before they parted with the money. Bessler feared that once the design was known the buyers could simply walk away knowing how to build his machine and he would get nothing for his trouble. 

I became curious about the legend of Bessler’s Wheel, while still in my teens, and have spent most of my life researching the life of Johann Bessler (I’m now 78). I obtained copies of all his books and had them translated into English and self-published them, in the hope that either myself or someone else might solve the secret and present it to the world in this time of pollution, global warming and increasingly limited energy resources.

Not long after I was able to read the English translations of his books, I realised that Bessler had embedded a number of clues in his books. These took the form of hints in the text, but also in a number of drawings he published and I found suggestions by the author that studying his books would reveal enough information about his wheel,to allow “someone with an acute and discerning mind, to build one”.

For some ideas about Bessler’s code why not visit my web sites at 

http://www.theorffyreuscode.com/

Take a look at my work on his “Declaration of Faith” at 

http://www.orffyreus.net/

Also please view my video at 

https://youtu.be/5BWVKtpuzn0

It gives a brief account both the legend and some more detail about some of the codes.

The problem of obtaining a fair reward for all his hard work was anticipated by Bessler and he took extraordinary measures to ensure that his secret was safe, but he encoded all the information needed to reconstruct the machine in a small number of books that he published. He implied that he was prepared to die without selling the secret and that he believed that posthumous acknowledgement was preferable to being robbed of his secret while he yet lived.


It has recently become clear that Bessler had a huge knowledge of the history of codes and adopted several completely different ones to disguise information within his publications. I have made considerable advances in deciphering his codes and I am confident that I have the complete design.


Johann Bessler published three books, and digital copies of these with English translations may be obtained from the links to the right of this blog. In addition there is a copy of his unpublished document containing some 141 drawings - and also my own account of Bessler’s life is also available from the links. It is called "Perpetual Motion; An Ancient Mystery Solved?" 

This biography contains a wealth of information about Bessler himself, as well as many quotes by Bessler and letters to him or about him from many interested parties. It tells of his life up to and including his years with Karl the Landgrave of Hesse Kassel, and what happened to him later.

Bessler's three published books are entitled "Grundlicher Bericht", "Apologia Poetica” and "Das Triumphirende...".

I have called Bessler's collection of 141 drawings “Maschinen Tractate”, but it was originally found in the form of a number of loosely collected drawings of perpetual motion designs. Many of these have handwritten notes attached and I have published the best English translation of them that I was able to get. Bessler never published these drawings but clearly intended to use them in his planned school for apprentices.

You can order copies of the books from my website at 

http://www.free-energy.co.uk/

Printed books direct from the printer can be obtained from here

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/johncollins

Or from the top of the right side panel under the heading ‘Bessler’s Books’.

There are also links lower down on the right side panel.

These books contain the most important information available if you seek to find the solution to Bessler’s wheel.

JC

UPDATE and INSPIRATION

Even though I’m 79 now, my enthusiasm for seeking and finding the solution to Johann Bessler’s perpetual motion machine has not diminished one iota.  I’m still determined to find it myself, or help someone else to do so.  Over many years I’ve dealt with the scornful or humorous reactions to my search; the arguments and debates over my apparent lack of understanding of the basic laws of physics; as well as the warm support from those who are open to the idea.  I know what I know, and my years of research have only served to reinforce my conviction that Bessler’s claims were genuine.

Long before the internet arrived I experienced mostly negative reactions to my ideas, if I dared to mention them to others and I quickly learned not to share my ideas.  Once the internet bloomed I stuck my head up above the parapet and quickly became the target for trolls as well as serious debaters and of course a large number of others, like myself, engaged in a lengthy period of research in the same subject though not always with Bessler in mind.

Until recently I believed that if I publicised enough information about the inventor and his machine, eventually someone would succeed in producing a working model, and I have produced an enormous amount of information through five books and several web sites - but no working model anywhere in the world….. yet.

So I recently came to the conclusion that no amount of designs published anywhere will convince the world at large unless it results in an actual working model.  Which is why I have returned to my workshop and begun again to try to recreate what I believe will prove to be configured the same as Bessler’s wheel.  I apologise to those who thought  I would finish it quite quickly.  It’s time consuming and not so easy - I am making parts out of old discarded pieces from previous attempts, and this takes time and at my age I’m usually mostly at my best in the mornings.  I also have other projects which keep me busy because as some know, we moved into this house about 18 months ago and we had builders in for six months, so there are lots of things my wife has identified, mainly in the garden, but not all, which she would like me to deal with!

The weather here has been bad with continuous rain and strong winds for most of this winter, so when it’s dry, (hardly ever) I get to work on the other projects outside.  Until I’ve completed Bessler’s wheel and I have a result, I won’t know if I’m right, but win or lose, I will publish all the details.  What I do believe is that when people see the completed wheel, whether or not it works, they will understand why I’m so confident that this is the real thing and maybe the concept will work, even if it requires a little adjustment.

I read an inspiring blog recently and I thought about the reasons given for writing such a blog.  They described how many people find encouragement by always looking forward and not dwelling on the past; we in this line of research are incurable optimists - we have to be to keep going!  Everyone believes in something, whether it’s religion, science, politics or something in social media. We all have our choices and we don’t need to be afraid maintain our beliefs in the face of strenuous opposition.   

I think with absolute certainty that a gravity-enabled wheel, such as Johann Bessler’s, is perfectly feasible and the evidence that it is, is out there.  If only people would open their minds to the possibility of manifesting such claims as Bessler’s.  We were taught that such a device as Bessler’s was/is impossible but it should really be thought of in the same way as a political opinion - not necessarily the absolute truth - it's just someone’s opinion.

Pierre Bayle (1647 – 28 December 1706) had it right when he wrote:-

“ The antiquity and general acceptance of an opinion is not assurance of its truth.”

In his “Historical and Critical Dictionary”, Bayle expressed his view that much that was considered to be "truth" was actually just opinion, and that gullibility and stubbornness were prevalent.”

JC

The Facts About Johann Bessler’s Perpetual Motion Machine.

 I am temporarily stopping my frequent blogs in order to concentrate on building a working model of Bessler’s perpetual motion machine.  I have interpreted sufficient clues to make a device which is based upon his own machine.  I will publish the result as soon as I can.

In the mean time please read the following account of his life.

JC

On 6th June, 1712, in Germany, Johann Bessler (also known by his pseudonym, Orffyreus) announced that after many years of failure, he had succeeded in designing and building a perpetual motion machine. For more than fourteen years he exhibited his machine and allowed people to thoroughly examine the outside of it, but it’s internal workings were kept hidden. This was because the inventor feared that his design would be copied and someone else might obtain credit for all his years of hard work looking for the solution. He followed the advice from the famous scientist, Gottfried Leibniz, who was able to examine the device, and recommended a number of demonstrations and tests designed to prove the validity of his machine without giving away the secret of its design.

Karl the Landgrave of Hesse permitted Bessler to live, work and exhibit his machine at the prince's castle of Weissenstein. Karl was a man of unimpeachable reputation and he insisted on being allowed to verify the inventor's claims before he allowed Bessler to take up residence. This the inventor reluctantly agreed to and once he had examined the machine to his own satisfaction Karl authorised the publication of his approval of the machine. For several years Bessler was visited by numerous people of varying status, scientists, ministers and royalty. Several official examinations were carried out and each time the examiners concluded that the inventor's claims were genuine.

Over a number of years Karl aged and it was decided that after so long it was time the inventor left the castle and he was granted accommodation in the nearby town of Karlshafen. Despite the strong circumstantial evidence that his machine was genuine, Bessler failed to secure a sale and after more than thirty years he died in poverty. His death came after he fell from a windmill he had been commissioned to build. The windmill was an interesting design using a vertical axle which allowed it to benefit from winds from any directions. 

He had asked for a huge sum of money for the secret of his perpetual motion machine, £20,000 which was an amount thought only affordable by kings and princes, and although many were interested, none were prepared to agree to the terms of the deal. Bessler required that he be given the money before the buyer was allowed to view the internal workings of the machine. But those who sought to purchase the wheel, for that was the form the machine took, insisted that they see the secret mechanism before they parted with the money. Bessler feared that once the design was known the buyers could simply walk away knowing how to build his machine and he would get nothing for his trouble. 

I became curious about the legend of Bessler’s Wheel, while still in my teens, and have spent most of my life researching the life of Johann Bessler (I’m now 78). I obtained copies of all his books and had them translated into English and self-published them, in the hope that either myself or someone else might solve the secret and present it to the world in this time of pollution, global warming and increasingly limited energy resources.

Not long after I was able to read the English translations of his books, I realised that Bessler had embedded a number of clues in his books. These took the form of hints in the text, but also in a number of drawings he published and I found suggestions by the author that studying his books would reveal enough information about his wheel,to allow “someone with an acute and discerning mind, to build one”.

For some ideas about Bessler’s code why not visit my web sites at 

http://www.theorffyreuscode.com/

Take a look at my work on his “Declaration of Faith” at 

http://www.orffyreus.net/

Also please view my video at 

https://youtu.be/5BWVKtpuzn0

It gives a brief account both the legend and some more detail about some of the codes.

The problem of obtaining a fair reward for all his hard work was anticipated by Bessler and he took extraordinary measures to ensure that his secret was safe, but he encoded all the information needed to reconstruct the machine in a small number of books that he published. He implied that he was prepared to die without selling the secret and that he believed that posthumous acknowledgement was preferable to being robbed of his secret while he yet lived.


It has recently become clear that Bessler had a huge knowledge of the history of codes and adopted several completely different ones to disguise information within his publications. I have made considerable advances in deciphering his codes and I am confident that I have the complete design.


Johann Bessler published three books, and digital copies of these with English translations may be obtained from the links to the right of this blog. In addition there is a copy of his unpublished document containing some 141 drawings - and also my own account of Bessler’s life is also available from the links. It is called "Perpetual Motion; An Ancient Mystery Solved?" 

This biography contains a wealth of information about Bessler himself, as well as many quotes by Bessler and letters to him or about him from many interested parties. It tells of his life up to and including his years with Karl the Landgrave of Hesse Kassel, and what happened to him later.

Bessler's three published books are entitled "Grundlicher Bericht", "Apologia Poetica” and "Das Triumphirende...".

I have called Bessler's collection of 141 drawings “Maschinen Tractate”, but it was originally found in the form of a number of loosely collected drawings of perpetual motion designs. Many of these have handwritten notes attached and I have published the best English translation of them that I was able to get. Bessler never published these drawings but clearly intended to use them in his planned school for apprentices.

You can order copies of the books from my website at 

http://www.free-energy.co.uk/

Printed books direct from the printer can be obtained from here

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/johncollins

Or from the top of the right side panel under the heading ‘Bessler’s Books’.

There are also links lower down on the right side panel.

These books contain the most important information available if you seek to find the solution to Bessler’s wheel.

JC

Update on Bessler’s Wheel ……. and I’m 79 today.

I’m 79 today and I’ve been studying the legend of Bessler’s wheel for about 65 years!  Well, about 35 years of serious research.

Not quite there yet, but confidence is high.  I’m building yet another a model of his wheel based on the latest information I have obtained from various pieces of text and some drawings he left for us.  This will probably be my last build and it takes time to build a device which is only sketchily described, but I’m giving it one more go. This doesn’t mean I will then give up!  I shall continue to study Johann Bessler’s books and share anything I believe is important. because he intended to give the secret of his machine to posterity, but he didn’t want to give it away until after his death.  Consequently he left numerous clues which had to be invisible to his followers, disciples and those curious to know how his machine worked. But he did leave comments which indicated there was information available if you looked for it.

Although I’m working on a small model relating to Bessler’s first exhibition model which was only four inches thick and 4.6 feet in diameter, mine is even smaller being only 3 feet wide and 2 inches in thickness, but it only needs to demonstrate the concept and verify its potential. Mine will only be able to turn in one direction unlike Bessler’s later models which were able to turn both ways.

The interesting detail of the first two wheels was that they were always out of balance, and had to have a brake applied to keep them stationary.  This is a necessary feature of the these so-called perpetual motion devices.  The two way models remained stationary until they were given a gentle push in one direction of the other, once the sound of a single weight falling and landing on the falling side of the wheel was heard, then the wheel began to accelerate.

These later two wheels were each 12 feet in diameter and the Merseburg one was capable of reaching a speed of more than 50 RPM.  The last version, the Kassel wheel, turned at 26 RPM, but this slower speed was a deliberate design feature because it was meant to undergo to an endurance test and was only stopped after 54 days of non-stop rotation.  A slower rate of turn meant it had a better chance of surviving the test without braking down early.

To gain some idea of the impressive power of the Merseburg wheel, consider this.  At 12 feet diameter, the circumference measured 37 feet and 8 inches.  At 50 rpm, the speed at the circumference would be 21 miles per hour.  If, as was recorded more than once, that it’s  the rotation speed was sometimes recorded more than 50 rpm, it’s not a big step to calculate its speed at 60 rpm, turning once every second and that would give a speed at the circumference of just over 25 mph.  You could certainly feel the 25 mile an hour wind being generated off the edge of the wheel, or cycling at 25 mph on a windless day.

A report on the slower Kassel wheel which ran at 26 rpm, commented that if a man tried to stop the wheel suddenly by hanging on to it, it would lift him off the ground.  These kind of subjective impressions are very convincing about the inherent power in these machines and we should not be too quick to dismiss their potential use as electricity generators.

They were single wheels on one axle but if, for instance we were to mount ten wheels on a single axle, we would increase their power potential ten fold.  That ignores potential extra weights, improved mechanisms and smaller but more complex mechanisms.

I will posting some pictures on this blog, once I’ve completed the model, but please allow a little more time before I do that, because it’s my birthday today, and I’m beginning to work more slowly!

JC

The True Story of Johann Bessler’s Perpetual Motion Machine

I am temporarily curtailing my frequent blogs in order to concentrate on building a working model of Bessler’s perpetual motion machine.  I have interpreted sufficient clues to make a device which is based upon his own machine.  I will publish the result as soon as I can.

In the mean time please read the following account of his life.

JC

On 6th June, 1712, in Germany, Johann Bessler (also known by his pseudonym, Orffyreus) announced that after many years of failure, he had succeeded in designing and building a perpetual motion machine. For more than fourteen years he exhibited his machine and allowed people to thoroughly examine the outside of it, but it’s internal workings were kept hidden. This was because the inventor feared that his design would be copied and someone else might obtain credit for all his years of hard work looking for the solution. He followed the advice from the famous scientist, Gottfried Leibniz, who was able to examine the device, and recommended a number of demonstrations and tests designed to prove the validity of his machine without giving away the secret of its design.

Karl the Landgrave of Hesse permitted Bessler to live, work and exhibit his machine at the prince's castle of Weissenstein. Karl was a man of unimpeachable reputation and he insisted on being allowed to verify the inventor's claims before he allowed Bessler to take up residence. This the inventor reluctantly agreed to and once he had examined the machine to his own satisfaction Karl authorised the publication of his approval of the machine. For several years Bessler was visited by numerous people of varying status, scientists, ministers and royalty. Several official examinations were carried out and each time the examiners concluded that the inventor's claims were genuine.

Over a number of years Karl aged and it was decided that after so long it was time the inventor left the castle and he was granted accommodation in the nearby town of Karlshafen. Despite the strong circumstantial evidence that his machine was genuine, Bessler failed to secure a sale and after more than thirty years he died in poverty. His death came after he fell from a windmill he had been commissioned to build. The windmill was an interesting design using a vertical axle which allowed it to benefit from winds from any directions. 

He had asked for a huge sum of money for the secret of his perpetual motion machine, £20,000 which was an amount thought only affordable by kings and princes, and although many were interested, none were prepared to agree to the terms of the deal. Bessler required that he be given the money before the buyer was allowed to view the internal workings of the machine. But those who sought to purchase the wheel, for that was the form the machine took, insisted that they see the secret mechanism before they parted with the money. Bessler feared that once the design was known the buyers could simply walk away knowing how to build his machine and he would get nothing for his trouble. 

I became curious about the legend of Bessler’s Wheel, while still in my teens, and have spent most of my life researching the life of Johann Bessler (I’m now 78). I obtained copies of all his books and had them translated into English and self-published them, in the hope that either myself or someone else might solve the secret and present it to the world in this time of pollution, global warming and increasingly limited energy resources.

Not long after I was able to read the English translations of his books, I realised that Bessler had embedded a number of clues in his books. These took the form of hints in the text, but also in a number of drawings he published and I found suggestions by the author that studying his books would reveal enough information about his wheel,to allow “someone with an acute and discerning mind, to build one”.

For some ideas about Bessler’s code why not visit my web sites at 

http://www.theorffyreuscode.com/

Take a look at my work on his “Declaration of Faith” at 

http://www.orffyreus.net/

Also please view my video at 

https://youtu.be/5BWVKtpuzn0

It gives a brief account both the legend and some more detail about some of the codes.

The problem of obtaining a fair reward for all his hard work was anticipated by Bessler and he took extraordinary measures to ensure that his secret was safe, but he encoded all the information needed to reconstruct the machine in a small number of books that he published. He implied that he was prepared to die without selling the secret and that he believed that posthumous acknowledgement was preferable to being robbed of his secret while he yet lived.


It has recently become clear that Bessler had a huge knowledge of the history of codes and adopted several completely different ones to disguise information within his publications. I have made considerable advances in deciphering his codes and I am confident that I have the complete design.


Johann Bessler published three books, and digital copies of these with English translations may be obtained from the links to the right of this blog. In addition there is a copy of his unpublished document containing some 141 drawings - and also my own account of Bessler’s life is also available from the links. It is called "Perpetual Motion; An Ancient Mystery Solved?" 

This biography contains a wealth of information about Bessler himself, as well as many quotes by Bessler and letters to him or about him from many interested parties. It tells of his life up to and including his years with Karl the Landgrave of Hesse Kassel, and what happened to him later.

Bessler's three published books are entitled "Grundlicher Bericht", "Apologia Poetica” and "Das Triumphirende...".

I have called Bessler's collection of 141 drawings “Maschinen Tractate”, but it was originally found in the form of a number of loosely collected drawings of perpetual motion designs. Many of these have handwritten notes attached and I have published the best English translation of them that I was able to get. Bessler never published these drawings but clearly intended to use them in his planned school for apprentices.

You can order copies of the books from my website at 

http://www.free-energy.co.uk/

Printed books direct from the printer can be obtained from here

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/johncollins

Or from the top of the right side panel under the heading ‘Bessler’s Books’.

There are also links lower down on the right side panel.

These books contain the most important information available if you seek to find the solution to Bessler’s wheel.

JC