I see the old controversy about whether gravity is a conservative force or not, and what that means, continues to rage on the besslerwheel forum. I have my own opinion about that but it seems to me that however you define it, it was what enabled Bessler's wheel to work. There are some senior members who don't accept that his wheel derived its power solely from gravity and that is the orthodox view. I know some readers on this forum also share that opinion but I hope to change their minds soon.
What interests me is the question of what drives the wheel if it isn't gravity. We can see that it uses weights and it seems logical that if it requires weight then the wheel won't spin in the gravityless conditions of outer space so if it isn't gravity alone, what additional force is used to complete each rotation?
I've seen and considered suggestions such as ambienmt temperature changes, static electricity, magnets, the Coriolis effect, centrifugal force, springs, air pressure, electromagnetism, inetial thrust changes etc etc. I'm sure I've missed some out but it seems to me that these are inadequate for the task being either too slow to react, too weak or simply too difficut to employ in what was reportedly a simple design.
So we are left with gravity - I think what we have been taught is correct but there is a simple way around the problem which I explained on my website at http://www.besslerswheel.com/html/conservative_force.html
I think we have to accept Bessler's word that it was the weights which providd the energy to drive the wheel and they required the presence of gravity to work. No one has come up with a credible alternitive force in my opinion.
