Well I said I'd report back, so here it is - unfortunately the latest design doesn't work. Despite this setback I remain confident because the information I have acquired from Bessler indicates that I'm on the right track. There are variables to this design and maybe others that I'm not aware of at this point so I need to go away and think about the alternatives. I'm unable to work on the reconstruction for now, anyway, as I have other plans for the next two weeks.
This news of my failure to finish with a working model will hearten many and disappoint others, but for me it is a case of keeping going. Because, as I have said before, I understand the concept which underlies the Bessler wheel and I have also managed to find some sketches of the actual mechanism, which will doubtless provoke a great deal of interest. It may be that I have misread the sketches and need to review them in a calmer state of mind.
The concept or principle upon which the Bessler wheel relies is simple and obvious once you know and, in response to more emails received, I can assure anyone reading this that there are no physical laws which will need revising to accomodate it. There is no doubt about this and I have no fears of anyone disagreeing with me once they understand the principle.
Of course there will be some who will say, 'share it - now!' But my mind is made up not to patent it (if I'm sufficiently lucky to succeed in this self-imposed task) and that could leave me potentially penniless for all my hard work, so once I give it away I have only the book to provide for me and my family. That's when I'll share everything.
JC

A blog about Johann Bessler and the Orffyreus Code and my efforts to decipher it. I'll comment on things connected with it and anything I think might be of interest to anyone else.
The ‘Bessler’s Books’ button at the top of the right side panel, will take you to a page giving access to all Bessler’s books. Simply click ‘home’ to come back to my blog.
Note the copyright notice.
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
MIB, conspiracies and wacky wagers.
I have received two emails which have prompted me to comment on them here. The first one arrived a couple of weeks ago and suggested that by publicly recording my attempt to reconstruct Bessler's wheel, I might attract the attention of certain gentlemen-in-black (MIB). They, it seems, have only the best interests of the oil industry in mind and would take exception to my project. I was warned that they would visit me and takes steps to make me wish to stop my project.
I have always tried to keep an open mind about most things and I've tried to arrive at a satisfactory opinion by applying logic. It seems to me that the MIB, if they exist anywhere outside the vivid imagination of Hollywood, would not be against my project at all and might actually be inclined to support it. The whole world knows oil is short and likely to get shorter, so, from their own perspective, anything which helps to extend the life of the reserves of oil has to be seen as a bonus and therefore ought to be encouraged. The internet seems to be a breeding
ground for conspiracy theories, and if I believed most of the conspiracies I read about I would become totally paranoid (instead of only mildly). I incline to fatalism and if I'm to be a target for the MIB then there's nothing I can do about it.
The other email asked whether, seeing as I had not posted anything much this week, I had failed in my attempt to reconstruct Bessler's wheel, implying, perhaps, that I did not wish to admit it? Of course not, I have been diverted from my intended course by the usual mundane requirements of everyday living and although I try to get into my workshop daily, I can't always. I shall report success and failure equally with alacrity and honesty.
As for my reconstruction of Bessler's wheel, I have two mechanisms fitted and working and the rest assembled but not yet fitted to the backplate. I shall continue to work on it and hope that soon I will finish it.
It is strange world that I inhabit where the prospect of finishing this project and securing the future of my family takes second place to the necessary but trivial-seeming tasks of every day living, but then I can't really blame the family. I have after all, claimed to be on the verge of success for at least the last twenty years! They can't see inside my mind and know, as I do, that it really is nigh.
And finally, as they say on the news, the thought of offering odds against my producing a gravity-driven perpetual motion machine at any time in the future seems to have scared away the betting firm which had expressed an interest, so no dice! They were dithering over the exact definition of what constitutes perpetual motion and in the end decided not to offer odds.
JC
I have always tried to keep an open mind about most things and I've tried to arrive at a satisfactory opinion by applying logic. It seems to me that the MIB, if they exist anywhere outside the vivid imagination of Hollywood, would not be against my project at all and might actually be inclined to support it. The whole world knows oil is short and likely to get shorter, so, from their own perspective, anything which helps to extend the life of the reserves of oil has to be seen as a bonus and therefore ought to be encouraged. The internet seems to be a breeding
ground for conspiracy theories, and if I believed most of the conspiracies I read about I would become totally paranoid (instead of only mildly). I incline to fatalism and if I'm to be a target for the MIB then there's nothing I can do about it.
The other email asked whether, seeing as I had not posted anything much this week, I had failed in my attempt to reconstruct Bessler's wheel, implying, perhaps, that I did not wish to admit it? Of course not, I have been diverted from my intended course by the usual mundane requirements of everyday living and although I try to get into my workshop daily, I can't always. I shall report success and failure equally with alacrity and honesty.
As for my reconstruction of Bessler's wheel, I have two mechanisms fitted and working and the rest assembled but not yet fitted to the backplate. I shall continue to work on it and hope that soon I will finish it.
It is strange world that I inhabit where the prospect of finishing this project and securing the future of my family takes second place to the necessary but trivial-seeming tasks of every day living, but then I can't really blame the family. I have after all, claimed to be on the verge of success for at least the last twenty years! They can't see inside my mind and know, as I do, that it really is nigh.
And finally, as they say on the news, the thought of offering odds against my producing a gravity-driven perpetual motion machine at any time in the future seems to have scared away the betting firm which had expressed an interest, so no dice! They were dithering over the exact definition of what constitutes perpetual motion and in the end decided not to offer odds.
JC
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
The wacky wager update
Well, two comments, one pro and one con and several emails, mostly for. I understand your point Lucius but there are needs which are not personal but which I would like to be able to satisfy if it were possible. My family has needs and there are others I could wish to help if I had the means, so for that reason as well as the others I mentioned before, I shall stick with my proposal to obtain odds against the creation of a gravity-driven wheel within the next year - and that has raised another issue.
I have been corresponding with one of the best known names in the gambling industry and it has become clear that they wish to use the term 'perpetual motion machine' and have the resulting device verified by the famous Science Museum. That seems very reasonable but I am concerned that when the time comes for verification the Science Museum's definition of perpetual motion might exclude my machine.
I have discussed this definition many many times and the whole thing seems to come down to the fact that a perpetual motion machine is defined as one which is excluded from all external sources of energy. I have always maintained that a gravitywheel obtains its energy for rotation from the force of gravity and since gravity is both external and internal to the gravitywheel it is not technically a perpetual motion machine although that is what they would have called it in Bessler's time.
I have compromised by suggesting that they could call it a 'gravity-powered perpetual motion machine'. I await their response.
JC
I have been corresponding with one of the best known names in the gambling industry and it has become clear that they wish to use the term 'perpetual motion machine' and have the resulting device verified by the famous Science Museum. That seems very reasonable but I am concerned that when the time comes for verification the Science Museum's definition of perpetual motion might exclude my machine.
I have discussed this definition many many times and the whole thing seems to come down to the fact that a perpetual motion machine is defined as one which is excluded from all external sources of energy. I have always maintained that a gravitywheel obtains its energy for rotation from the force of gravity and since gravity is both external and internal to the gravitywheel it is not technically a perpetual motion machine although that is what they would have called it in Bessler's time.
I have compromised by suggesting that they could call it a 'gravity-powered perpetual motion machine'. I await their response.
JC
Monday, 18 May 2009
Blog colour change and mechanism update
Sorry for changing the look of my blog, but I'm trying to get to grips with it and increase the size of the blog posting window.
I have been working on redesigning the mechanism inside the wheel, because it sometimes locks in a half-way position. This is due to the close proximity of another part of the mechanism. I have changed one of the levers for a longer version and then I took up the extra length by creating a hump or bridge in part of its length. This enables it to pass over the offending obstacle in its path.
The mechanism moves freely now and does what I want it to do, so my next task is to assemble the remaining mechanisms in the same way as the first. This design won't suffice for a finished product but it will certainly do for a proof of principle model which is all I want.
In attempting to make this machine I have, over the years, used and reused various parts, and the part which has suffered the most is the backplate which is what I call the wooden supporting structure to which all the parts are attached. It is in the form of a three foot wide circular disc of MDF (medium density fibreboard). The current backplate is nearing the end of its useful life and will have to be pensioned off soon. The disc is so full of drilled holes from previous attempts at making a working model that now when I drill I often drill into an adjoining hole and when held up to the light the backplate looks like a representation of the sky at night!
I'd put up a picture but it has a number design features drawn on the backplate which might give someone a clue to the direction I'm taking.

JC
I have been working on redesigning the mechanism inside the wheel, because it sometimes locks in a half-way position. This is due to the close proximity of another part of the mechanism. I have changed one of the levers for a longer version and then I took up the extra length by creating a hump or bridge in part of its length. This enables it to pass over the offending obstacle in its path.
The mechanism moves freely now and does what I want it to do, so my next task is to assemble the remaining mechanisms in the same way as the first. This design won't suffice for a finished product but it will certainly do for a proof of principle model which is all I want.
In attempting to make this machine I have, over the years, used and reused various parts, and the part which has suffered the most is the backplate which is what I call the wooden supporting structure to which all the parts are attached. It is in the form of a three foot wide circular disc of MDF (medium density fibreboard). The current backplate is nearing the end of its useful life and will have to be pensioned off soon. The disc is so full of drilled holes from previous attempts at making a working model that now when I drill I often drill into an adjoining hole and when held up to the light the backplate looks like a representation of the sky at night!
I'd put up a picture but it has a number design features drawn on the backplate which might give someone a clue to the direction I'm taking.
JC
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The Legend 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...
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It's not that unlikely. In the 1870s, two inventors, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell, both independently designed devices that c...
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When someone finds the solution to Bessler’s wheel I don’t know how, or even if, it will affect the world we live in, but I do know that con...
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There are still a lot of people who accept the view that gravity could not be the sole provider of energy to Bessler’s wheel so here’s what...