My work on my own project to reconstruct Bessler's wheel is progressing at last and I plan to complete my single mechanism test rig in the next day or so. When and if that works as I hope, then I will build some more mechanisms and test the final wheel in the next couple of weeks. If the test rig experiment doesn't perform as I hope, then apart from seeing if there are any further adjustments I can make which will improve the situation, I'll have to reconsider my options. I await the results of Øystein's build with great interest, but the two of us seem to be approaching the solution from two different perspectives and who is to say whether either or both, or none of them will prove right or wrong. There are others out there who also believe that they are on the brink of success, but it would be foolish not to remember that we have been on the brink of success for what...300 years now!
I mentioned above that I intended to add 'more mechanisms', but I did not say anything about adding the ubiquitous five! The reason for this is that lately I have come to the conclusion (as everyone has been telling me for the last, I don't know how mnay years!) that perhaps having five mechanisms wasn't strictly necessary for a proof of principle wheel. Bessler said, "If I arrange to have just one cross-bar in the machine, it revolves very slowly, just as if it can hardly turn itself at all, but, on the contrary, when I arrange several bars, pulleys and weights, the machine can revolve much faster..." If my wheel turned so slowly but still continued to turn without stopping then I should consider that proof enough for me. Then I could add sufficient to make a clear demonstration of the wheel's power.
I have written 309 blogs and received 334,815 visitors over that time which works out at just over 1000 per blog, from more than ten countries. I'm proud of this but it doesn't really compare with other blogs and to tell the truth I'm running out of ideas to write about. What I thought I'd do is to leave the blog as it is for a few days to guage reaction and then leave it closed for some weeks with just a brief account of Bessler wheel on it until I have something useful to report. That would either be some more information about my own theory or the revelation that my wheel worked. If the information related to the latter then there would be some short period of time before I was able to say anything publicly anyway.
So it's time to take a break (not my Spanish break yet!) and see if anyone wishes me to continue writing and perhaps some will offer subjects to comment on.
In the mean time a big thank you to all who commented, both positively and negatively - you can't have one without the other.
Best wishes to all and good luck.- and keep me informed!
JC
