I suppose I should mention this on the Besslerwheel form but it doesn't seem to warrant a new thread; it's just my musings again.
When Karl's emissary, Nathaniel von Stapff, first approached Bessler with a view to checking out his claims, he must have made it clear to Bessler that in order to take advantage of the Landgrave's patronage, he would be required to reveal the secret, under an oath of silence of course, of the wheel's construction. Clearly this was a highly contentious issue for Bessler and yet he was persuaded to accept, the issue molified to some extent by the promise of 4000 thalers for the privilege.
So before Karl could even consider such a proposal he had to verify to his own satisfaction that Bessler's wheel actually worked, and since the Kassel wheel would not be finished for several months, and the previous, Merseberg wheel, had been destroyed, the wheel Karl saw must have been the small model mentioned two or three times elsewhere.
This small model may have been Bessler's first fully working model or even one which showed some rotation without providing enough to drive another device and it could only turn one way. It may have been the same one that was found in pieces after his death, and the same one that Jean-Pierre de Crousaz wrote somewaht sarcastically about. So when Karl described its simplicity he was probably describing the basic concept and not the interior of the Kassel wheel.
It is evident that Karl was heavily involved with matters of State and probably never took time to view the interior of the larger wheel, so one might conclude that although the concept appeared extremely simple to Karl, as he examined the model wheel - and that idea was born out by Bessler's own fears that any potential buyer might think he deserved his money back once he knew the secret, in fact the actual working model might have been considerably more complicated.
By complicated I mean that, whereas I have always maintained that Bessler indicated that five mechanisms were necessary to a fully functioning wheel, there might have been as few as two in his model version - a very simple concept and an ideal method of constructing a proof of principle version.
JC
Yes and Bessler said, "So simple, yet so hidden." So that sounds like he meant that as if a PM mech that works was a mystery, it was even more hidden than that!!
ReplyDeleteI never completely agreed with Karl's statement that it was so simple a carpenters boy could make it. Maybe once the principle is clear, it seems quite simple, yes. Many things seems easy and self-evident, self-explanatory once it's completely understood. I think the devil is in the details, as anon hinted. "So simple, yet so hidden". I have a feeling that many things were "simple and hidden". Innovative things, "odd" things, like a moving pivot for example.
ReplyDeleteEngineers have a natural tendency to develop rigid, solid, well-built structures. Solid, unmovable axles, good bearings, smooth operation. Bessler did things differently - he was (as we should) thinking out of the box. I am quite confident that he used things (unheard of in his time) like clutches, perhaps slip rings, moving pivots, and so forth.
Simple things, not immediately obvious ("hidden") yet simple and effective. And that's the ticket.
How come when Bessler's words about its simplicity come up, everybody gets quiet?
ReplyDeleteIf the thing is so simple,why is everyone on this planet so stupid,in this case.
ReplyDeleteWhere are the original references / citations to this bessler wheel - the letters and have they been historically authenticated ?
ReplyDeleteRead my biography of Bessler, anonymous. It is the resutlt of 30 years research. Go to www.free-energy.co.uk for more info
ReplyDelete"I obtained records from Germany, France, Russia, Italy, the U.S.A and England"
ReplyDeleteWhat records from what institutions ?
Too many to list,anon. Mostly Germany and England, a few from St.Petersburg, and several individual ones from people in other countries such as France, Italy and the USA.
ReplyDeleteJC
You would need to make public the institutions and the records .
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right anon. In my book, "Perpetual Motion; An Ancient Mystery Solved?",I did give the general location of the records but failed to identify the exact record in every case and this is something I have been aware of for the last ten years, since a German pulisher wished to translate my book into German for publication.
ReplyDeleteThis was information they had to have and we had considerable correspondence, they asking me for the details of a particular quote, and me searching for it and providing it. It was a lengthy process and in the end they changed their minds about publication at that time although they still own the rights to publish it in German.
I have all of it included in my new book but it won't be published yet as there are currently new additions going in.