Friday 11 December 2009

Hostage to fortune.

My seeming confidence in my ability to successfully reconstruct Bessler's wheel may seem like I have given a hostage to fortune - and yet, despite the limited time left to achieve my goal, as far as my wager goes, I remain buoyantly unconcerned at the possibility of failure. The reason for my apparently disproportionate feeling of optimism lies, not in my current construction, but rather in the sure and certain knowledge that I know what principle lies behind Bessler's wheel and which powers it. I can say without any fear of correction that there has not been a single suggestion by any person, past or present, which explains this principle, although there have been a number allusions to it in a general way but which have missed the truth by a whisker or two. Because of this knowledge, I'm confident that I shall succeed, if not this month then next month or the one after.

Now before certain people jump on this carefully considered comment as a sign that I am getting ready to admit failure, I would like to assure them that I have not failed as I have not finished the construction. However, I have heard it said that when man hatches plan, God dispatches man, so I have taken time to record my thoughts on this matter and have taken steps to ensure that, should my end arrive prematurely, my efforts will not have been in vain and hopefully we shall see this miracle of simplicity, operating around the world . Antoine de Saint-Exupery once wrote, "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away". I cannot say that this design is perfect but it is extremely simple to understand - if only it were as easy to construct!

My insurance in case of a sudden exit from this world has taken considerable time to complete and that task has looked more attractive to me than contemplating the prospect of standing in my workshop during the weather we have been subjected to during the last two weeks. But that task is done; the sun is out; it's very cold but dry, so back to work!

JC

5 comments:

  1. Keep up the good work. I'll be looking forward to your next post. -ssmyser

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  2. John,

    let me sign a non disclosure contract and I will be more than happy to work on your wheel. Not saying that I am cleverer than you but I can access resources and funds to expedite its accurate construction.
    Seems to me that your "finished before Christmas" has now become (once again) months away.
    Let us get our teeth into it, and yes, the glory will always remain yours.
    Damian

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  3. Antoine de saint.. :¤D I love that kind of phrases. They where wise man I old days.

    Grind grind :) ;)

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  4. Actually John, I changed my mind. Keep up the good work and I eagerly await the results.

    Damian

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  5. Sorry Damian, you were too quick for me but thanks for the offer. I am better working on my own - no offense intended. I work slow but I get there eventually!


    John

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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 s...