Is Johann Bessler’s Secret to be Found in Maschinen Tractate?

I think that the arrival of a working version of Johann Bessler’s wheel is imminent.  There is so much new research into his Maschinen Tractate (MT) going on, particularly in the Besslerwheel forum, that the chances of success have never been higher.  The whole purpose of the drawings and notes in that document was for the education of apprentices attending Bessler’s planned school for teaching various trades.  Given his obvious intention to leave clues to his wheel extant after his death, plus of course the hastily scribbled note on the front of the document, it is clear that the answer can be found within those pages.

The note on the front cover, famously read, “ NB. May 1, 1733. Due to the arrest, I burned and buried all papers that prove the possibility. However, I have left all demonstrations and experiments, since it would be difficult for anybody to see or learn anything about a perpetual motion from them or to decide whether there was any truth in them because no illustration by itself contains a description of the motion; however, taking various illustrations together and combining them with a discerning mind, it will indeed be possible to look for a movement and, finally to find one in them."

There are other indications of his plan to encourage the reader to study the various drawings and through a comprehensive study of all them,  discover maybe one real movement or action which will lead to the solution. There are 141 drawings in total with the first 55 accompanied by brief notes each one about the adjacent drawing.  

I have made much of the clues and hints in his other three books, but have paid less attention to those in MT, but the current discussions about the drawings has raised considerable interest and I’m now pursuing a more thorough investigation of the MT drawings. There are a number of additional clues which seem to indicate something important but although you can make sense of what they could or might mean, it’s hard to confirm. I’ve discussed some of them in my web site at www.theorffyreuscode.com

Such urgent action by Bessler must have been caused by something that he felt endangered his secret and therefore he might have lost sole possession of the one thing that gave him hope for a his school, sound financial future, and fame.  He declares that it was due to an arrest, but having been written in May 1733 doesn’t necessarily mean that he was arrested at that date but could have been responding to an earlier event which made him reconsider what information might be found in his files.

You can acquire a copy of MT plus English translation from the panel on the right, towards the bottom or from the top where is says “Bessler’s books and a. Biography” .

JC