Saturday 9 February 2019

Bessler Really Was Ahead Of His Time.

Johann Bessler invented his perpetual motion machine in 1712.  His timing was unfortunate because it had to compete with the beginning of the Steam era.  Thomas Newcomen’s engine was so much more powerful and clearly it meshed with the then current understanding of steam in the world of science and it too, surfaced in 1712 too,  an unhappy coincidence for Bessler.

The science of steam had a prehistory of successful experiments among whose work Denis Papins stands out. But despite a common curiosity about perpetual motion machines there were no successful demonstration to presage Bessler’s claims.  The age of steam arrived and proceeded to develop at an alarming rate.

Once the steam era had developed to the limit of its own technology, the age of the internal combustion engine took over and the power of electricity dawned and between the three of them poor old Bessler's wheel never stood a chance, even if the men of science had accepted it.  I suppose I should mention nuclear power here but as we shall see, the earlier three sources of power are nearing the end of their useful life unless a purer cleaner form of energy can be found.  The huge effect of pollution from all three resources is considered with some trepidation as global warming begins to make its effect palpable.  Continuously more strident calls are being made for a reduction in the producton of pollution, including the invention of ways of dealing with nuclear waste.  This is believed to be achievable with the introduction of a clean, alternative energy.

So here we are our tiny niche of Besslerites, believing in his perpetual motion machine, and maybe we have the answer at our finger tips.  Whether the solution is found and proven this year or next, it is imminent.  Will his 300 year old invention blossom forth introducing a new era of power from the force of gravity, a clean, low technology available in any location around the world?   Independant of local conditions, flowing water, the wind, the tides, geothermal or any of the old power sources.

Is this coincidence?  If Bessler had not found the solution in 1712, would we have even bothered to search for it today?  If his wheel had been sold during Bessler's life would it have had any effect on the development of the burgeoning steam, oil, electricity and nuclear powers?  Isn't it perfect timing for the solution to be found now when the world seeks an alternative clean, cheap energy to run all those amazing devices which were the outcome of the three earlier stages of power development?

This whole scenario looks like a long planned series of events which are designed to end with Bessler's gravity wheel, but only after hundreds of years of development of the earlier forms of energy.  Would we have got where we are today without the commercial development of steam engines, petrol-driven vehicles, electric trains, ships and aircraft?  Perhaps we had to forgo Bessler's dream in order to get to where we are now, before we could take steps to use our discoveries but power them in a different way to bring to a stop global warming?

What of Bessler's final panagyric to his sponsor, Karl, dated 2019, another coincidence? Was it some subconscious nudge to publish something dated 300 years hence?  It was not a decision taken with any awareness, just a lucky occurence like many coincidences which litter our lives.  How often we note that something almost always insignificant happened and say, "that was lucky!"  But sometimes it almost feels as if some guiding hand was at work.

Few people know of an accident I had in my mid twenties when my car's brakes failed and I went over a very steep and high embankment.  My car flew through the air before it hit upside down and rolled several times.  I was thrown out (pre seat belt days) when the door burst open on the intial impact, and apart from a brief period of unconsciousness I recovered uninjured.  My car was not so lucky and was written off.  For many months afterwards I felt euphoric due to my amazing escape from what looked like certain death and was convinced I was destined for some important purpose. Perhaps that time has come.

JC

36 comments:

  1. A miraculous contribution Mr. Collins, I agree to you and hope that your search this year of success is crowned.

    All the best afterwards for your birthday

    Marco

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    1. Thank you Marco. Confidence is high.

      JC

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    2. I think each of us who deal with this phenomenon feels chosen to solve this unique system of weights. What do you think, John, is this a phenomenon or is it not a phenomenon of nature. How to find out the truth about this splendor. Perhaps, that this nature's miracle has already been discovered and is just waiting? I feel that there is a great longing in your heart and you want to reveal a device for the world in thanksgiving for the miracle of saving your own life. You are a great friend of this task that nobody forces you to do.
      Personally, I think that there are no coincidences because everything has space in time and is watched as long as the heart beats.
      I think that Bessler went his own way without a master who gave him knowledge, time and fingers he put in the skill to construct the device.
      You are right in saying that we are a niche, the last dinosaurs that tourists watch and to the surprise they see that we are alive.
      It is possible that your destiny for an important purpose is still needed and required.
      It is possible that I have a different view on coincidences, but Bessler's dream continues until the Triumphant end. From that time, it will rest in peace.

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    4. Good question Stephen. Does anyone have an answer? There are many questions and even more answers. I know that you have important priorities like all of us. In many cases you have to be careful and in some only a little crazy. In many matters, nothing depends on us, we can only wait. Time is a stern teacher but she has the space she gives us.

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  2. The process of discovery is actually a systematic activity that slowly eliminates the things that do not work.... there is no shortcut, if you are a builder, then you must build, if you have the ability to use simulations then that is your path for uncovering the secret of the century. I do not believe that the second one to make it work allow us to say that we discovered the process, but using all of his clues gives Bessler the privilege of being the one who discovered it. I believe, after dozens of actual builds, that there are three sections to the mechanism. The driver, the driven and the movement of the wheel. The driver provides the power, the driven is the transfer of the energy provided by the driven and the rotation of wheel which is causedby the positions of weights that drive the wheel. and yes, I do believe that we stand at the edge of a revolution on the Earth and few events have ever done.... good luck to you John and good luck to all

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    1. Gravittea Three sections of the mechanism, which is excellent in high, medium and low, I know, Bessler said about it. He also said that the driver is working in pairs as the main factor of the cause and the rotation of the wheel will occur, so I know. Positions drive the wheel and I know it with you.
      Why is not it done? I think there are further requirements for expanding knowledge to make it a success.

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  3. Is it worth revisiting the translations of Apologia etc. I sought some clarification on some sentences given using on line translators; Some of their output is very different to the English translations given e.g.

    XLVI.

    German text
    Der Geiz ist eine Wurzel böß’ Ein Amboß krieget viele Stöß’.


    English translation
    For greed is an evil plant. An anvil receives many blows. (JC)

    The spirit is a root of evil ' An anvil craget many stupid '. (Bing: Data from Micrtosoft Translator)

    The stinginess is a root ' An anvil gets many thrusts'. (Google translate)

    The spirit is a root of evil ' An anvil craget many stupid '. (Collins Dictionary)
    The spirit is a root of evil ' An anvil gets a lot of shock '. [using kriegt instead of krieget]

    The love of money is a root of boss' ye kill an anvil many shock'. (Babylon NG)

    The stinginess is a root of böß' an anvil get many pushes. (webtranslation)


    GB

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    1. Mike Senior who did all my translation work, sadly no longer with us, asked if I wanted literal word for word translation or preferred text that was readable and said what Mike believed the author meant. I chose the latter, because I did not have any idea about the content of what he translated.

      He had a degree in 18th C German, could recite ancient Greek poetry from memory, the same in Latin and also had an honours degree in Botany. He was an accomplished astronomer and had his own large telescope for studying the heavens.

      He was also into higher mathematics and corresponded often with the magazines which dealt with such stuff. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Mike was a polymath of unlimited intellectual ability and as he explained to me many times, translation is not an exact science as there’s so many alternative meanings to each word depending on context among other things. He said you just have to try to get a feel for what the writer is trying to say and rewrite it for modern minds.

      I don’t doubt that there will be many attempts to get a more exact translation but Mike’s is all we have for now, and without his work none of this would be up for discussion.

      JC

      JC

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  6. I was wondering about some of the odd things in the translation. Things that appear innocuous and reasonable at first but then on deeper thought seem ludicrous. E.g. “An anvil receives many blows”. Why? No one just strikes an anvil! Something, a work piece is always put on an anvil to be struck, like a piece of metal to be formed or flattened. There is no point in just striking an anvil! What does this line really mean or imply?
    GB

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    1. True but the anvil receives many blows when the smithy hits, for instance, red hot horse shoes.

      JC

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    3. It’s true in the Toy’s Page that the anvils have nothing in between them and the hammers to be shaped. I don’t think it has any significance, but it is strange that those figures are not shaping anything.

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    4. The significance lies in the mechanism, not in the hammering.

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  7. Look at the Toy page. The wheel is the anvil. It might be a way to drive the wheel.

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  8. JC, Perhaps that's what you're supposed to think. Why didn't Bessler say “the work on the anvil receives many blows”? Bessler's enemies may have thought the same thing and just skirted over it.
    GB

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    1. I’m going to give my understanding of the meaning in that piece of text. I’m not saying I’m right but for me it makes sense. Give me a few days to write it.

      JC

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    2. Bessler explains: "The noise you are talking about, I assure you, triggered directly by the phenomenon of the true driving force of the machine, and nothing more" - ap str. 352
      What do you think, John, is this a phenomenon or is it not a phenomenon of nature.
      Or is it a purely mechanical solution?
      In my opinion, this is a phenomenon of nature and what is your opinion John?

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  9. Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) Occultist and Freemason: “There is a traditional saying that whenever an Adept seems to have made a straightforward, comprehensible statement, then is it most certain that He means something entirely different. The Truth is nevertheless clearly set forth in His Words; it is His simplicity that baffles the unworthy.”

    GB

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  10. Der Geiz ist eine Wurzel böß’ Ein Amboß krieget viele Stöß’

    In the two preceding lines of the text, Bessler refers to Wagner, Gärtner and Borlach.

    In my opinion, he refers in the following line of text to himself ("An anvil receives many blows") as an anvil, who receives many blows (from Wagner, Gärtner and Borlach).

    "The stinginess is the root of evil ", he probably means the (relatively high) price of the wheel.
    So if no one is willing to pay the 100,000 thalers, then this stinginess is the evil root of the world not benefiting from his invention.

    ovaron
     

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  11. He was the greatest engineer of all time.

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  16. Some da Vinci code sh* is going on in your head Stephen.

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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...