Re-inventing The Wheel - Bessler’s Wheel!

The Bessler-Collins Solution to the Gravity-Wheel.

The concept that Johann Bessler discovered over 300 years ago and which took me most of my life to dream of, is simple.  We only have one action available to us to try to understand the concept and then try and make it into a reality. A weighted lever falls through a 90 degree arc.  It has two features to the fall that can be used to our advantage.  One of them is deciding where to try and make it land at a desirable point, to generate some torque.  The second one is to find a way to make use of the potential energy generated during the fall.

The answer has to be found here if we accept that Bessler discovered it.  There isn’t any other source of energy available.

NB In what follows I will attribute certain pieces of information to Bessler, but lack of space means I won’t be filling the page with explanations of where I found them or how I know what he meant.  I have spent a lifetime studying Bessler’s clues and it will take a large book to reveal each and every clue and how I deciphered each.  I’ve published some of the clues and their meaning, but they were easier ones to find and explain. But as well, there are still many clues identified but still not all solved.

As far as we know; this particular configuration has never been found before, or demonstrated  - until Bessler  found it.

First Bessler decided where he wanted the weight to land.  Ideally he wanted to generate as much torque as possible.  Initially he designed the weighted levers to fall in a 90 degree arc, but this produced hardly any torque and he knew that once the wheel rotated a little, the torque would be neutralised. The weight had hardly moved more than a few degrees backwards from under the axle.

Bessler used the potential energy generated by the weighted lever, during its fall, to shift the weighted lever’s landing point towards the following mechanism.  He used a scissor mechanism to achieve this.  These operate sideways best and can operate in reverse when conditions allow.  With five mechanisms employed, the gap between the mechanisms amounted to 72 degrees and moving into that gap would greatly increase the torque with additional benefits.  In reality the full 72 degrees was not available but at least half of it was and that amounted to significant increase on the original amount gained by the right angled fall.

The mechanism preceding this falling one, would counter-rotate about 30 degrees as the wheel rotated forwards reducing the amount of lift needed to return it to its prelaunch position.

Bessler mentions that at one point the weight shot upwards.  This is a very important point and is key to success. I explained it in my www.besslerswheel.com website at Swing Mechanics, click on the principle button (posted in 2010!).  Remember Bessler’s words “The weights gain force from their own swinging”.

Making the fallen weight rise up quickly is actioned by attaching a length of cord to the weight on the fallen mechanism and attaching the other end to the red dot on the falling mechanism.

Solving the Problem

After more than ten years research, Bessler finally found a potential solution which could be stated quite simply.  It was this concept which I dreamed of a couple of years ago.  Some of the potential energy gained during the fall of a weight, (before the weight lands) needs to be used to reduce the amount of lift required to return the weight to its pre-fall position. Bessler studied all possibilities and he found the answer - the special configuration of weights needed.

He divided the action of the falling weight into two parts.  The first part involved choosing where the falling weight landed, i.e., which part of the edge or rim of the wheel was best. The second part of the action used some of the potential energy accumulating during the weight’s fall, to move the falling weight sideways to land it at his chosen landing spot.

He used a unique scissor mechanism to guide the falling weight into a gentle arc towards the outer end of the following radius and its pivot.  If the weight had fallen through a standard right angle arc of 90 degrees, without the extending action of the scissor mechanism, it would give little torque and none available once the wheel was rotating.

Bessler’s wheel needed five mechanisms each consisting of  a lever plus one weight.  All the five weights were of equal size and mass. Having five mechanisms meant each one was 72 degrees from the next one.

So, depending on where the scissor mechanism landed its weight, could, for instance, make the wheel rotate up to 30 degrees forward. This is because when the weight lands about 70 degrees further back from the pivot point at the end of the six o’clock radius, it causes the wheel to rotate forwards about half that distance, or around 30 degrees. 

At the same time the previously fallen weighted lever mechanism begins to move backwards relative to the forward rotation of the wheel.  It moves backward about 30 degrees, which is more than it would have done if the weight had moved through its normal 90 degree fall, without the extension.  This reduces the amount of lift in the fallen (wl) needed to maintain rotation.

Because gravity is only responsible for the vertical distance the scissor mechanisms which forced the weight to move sideways as it fell, it did not use more energy than if it had fallen straight downwards, but it borrowed a little from the potential energy being generated by the falling weight. That potential energy produced during the fall, is largely wasted in making noise when it lands, but moving the weight sideways caused it to land much further back along the wheel’s rim, thus providing a larger mechanical advantage (MA), or torque; more than if it had fallen through the normal unextended 90 degree arc.

When the extended scissor mechanism lands on the edge of the wheel, it lands gently because it has been diverted from its vertical path by the potential energy accumulating in the vertical fall.  NB, Fischer von Erlach commented on this by saying that the weight could be heard landing gently on the side towards which the wheel turned.

Bessler showed us that although the weight fell through 90 degrees, a previously fallen weight only needed to be lifted 30 degrees to reduce any braking effect it would have suffered without the lift.  This also provided an additional increase in torque leading to the rapid acceleration of the wheel, as noted by many reliable witnesses. These two actions happened simultaneously.

The five mechanisms worked in pairs and were arranged quite close to each other so the witnesses were able to remark positively on the extremely smooth rotation of the wheel. 

The fact that every time a single weight fell, a previously fallen weight was launched upwards,  in effect nudged the centre of gravity backwards continuously.  The wheel itself was recorded as needing its brake set to stop it rotating, and it would immediately beginning rotating as soon as the brake was released.  This tells us that the wheel was permanently out-of-balance.

Using a metronome set to the Merseburg wheel spin speed of 50 rpm, with five weights falling at every turn of the wheel, means the sound of weights landing 250 times per minute, or about four times every second! 

The Kassel wheel had nine mechanism so each one was separated from its neighbour by just 40 degrees.  Its spin speed unloaded was 26 RPM. Each weight landed 234 times per minute. Just under 4 times per second!  No wonder Fischer Von Erlach could only describe the “sound of about 8 weights landing gently on the side of the wheel”. 

The Solution

Using the scissor mechanisms to push the falling weighted levers sideways comes naturally to this device, it’s the way it moves most easily. Bessler commented in his Apologia Poetica,

 “A crab crawls from side to side. It is sound, for it is designed thus.” 

Not only does it move easily opening in one direction but is easily reversed and closing when the wheel is reversed.

All my versions of Bessler’s wheel are designed to turn clock-wise.

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The information box is smaller than I planned so here a bigger version.

The first red line shows the weighted levers.

The pink lines show the scissor mechanisms.

The green lines show the scissor guide arms.

The blue lines show the short extension to the green scissor guide arms. Each has a cord attached which provides a link to the weighted levers.  When a weighted lever falls, the end of the arm follows edge of the wheel, pulling the cord, thus lifting a previous fallen weighted lever.

The red dot on the end of the green scissor guide arm shows where the cord is attached.

The grey and black lines show the aluminium retaining bar, controlling the lateral sway I see when the scissor mechanisms fall.

Unfortunately my own model has not been finished yet.  I had hoped to finish it in time for my birthday but other calls on my time prevented this happening. I need to add the connecting cords and I’ll post a new picture when I’ve finished. At least this post shows where I’ve go to and hopefully explains my latest concept.

There are a few facts about Bessler’s wheel which I have been able establish with absolute certainty. I will explain more later, but for now;

1.  There are at least 5 mechanisms required.  

2.  An odd number of mechanisms are required, 5, 7 or 9.

3.  5 mechanisms produce the fastest RPM, more mechanisms produce slower RPM. This is because more mechanisms take up more room, leaving less space for their actions.

4. It is necessary for the starting point of the weight’s fall to be higher than its landing point.  This may seem obvious but it cannot be achieved with some current designs being made suggested, for instance 4 mechanisms cannot accomplish it.

JC