Why I Continue to Seek Johann Bessler’s Secret?

So often over many years while I’ve been trying to find the secret of Bessler’s wheel, I’ve been asked why? Why did I spend so long looking for the answer to a question which was already known, understood and believed.  Johann Bessler’s wheel was faked, such machines were impossible and I should stop wasting my time on a fruitless task.

When I first chanced upon the legend of Bessler’s Perpetual Motion machine I read it and came to the same conclusion as most people, it had to have been a fraudulent exercise by a desperate man.  Everyone said, “it’s impossible!”

However, day-dreaming about the story one day, I suddenly realised there was an absurdity or an impossibility in the account I had read.  At the time I thought perhaps the records were inaccurate or there was some other explanation, but subsequently I discovered the records were correct but a major piece of evidence was false, which was designed to prove that Bessler was a liar and his claims were false.  

This simple discovery set me on a lifetime quest for the truth.  I was about fifteen years of age at the time, now I’m approaching my seventy-eighth birthday and my confidence has never been higher because I have at last been given a clear view through the smoke and mirrors that Bessler used to disguise the true configuration of his mysterious machine.

Johann Bessler first exhibited his machine in 1712 in Gera, Germany and he valued the device at 100,000 Thaler's,  equivalent to twenty thousand Pounds at that time.  Coincidentally in that same year the British Board of Longitude offered the same amount to the inventor of a method for establishing a ship’s longitudinal position at sea.  This was won eventually by John Harrison’s marine chronometer, but it must have given Bessler the confidence to ask a similar sum.

Of course Bessler’s insistence on being paid the money before he would release the machine or even allow  an internal examination of it, prevented any chance of a successful sale being completed. He had managed to arrange for verification of his claims by a man of impeccable reputation, Karl the Landgrave of Hesse Kassel, who demanded full access before agreeing to certify that the machine was genuine.   But despite this excellent endorsement and several expressions of interest no-one could agree to the details of the sale.

The reason for my continued search for the solution is the existence of no less than three books written and published by Bessler plus the discovery of a file containing 141 drawings describing attempted perpetual motion designs.  There are numerous clues within the text as well as the drawings included in the three books. In more than one place he has hinted that close examination of the books could lead to the solution for someone with a discerning mind.

It is clear to anyone who reads Bessler’s words in his books, that he is sincere; that he suffers from stress piled up on him by his critics, his “enemies” as he constantly refers to them.  If he was false would Karl have backed him? Wouldn’t he be subject to the same punishment as anyone else found to have been trying to deceive his ruler, Karl, namely execution by a beheading? That is a likely outcome for anyone believed to have been trying to cheat his ruler and there was plenty of precedent.

In an attempt to attract more people to begin working within this very niche subject, I arranged to have all three books plus the 141 drawings and their notes, translated into English and then I self-published them through the internet.  I also wrote an account of my own about the Legend of Bessler’s Wheel, entitled ‘Perpetual Motion; An Ancient Mystery Solved?”

I’ve recorded a YouTube video, given seven radio interviews; been flown to Rome to take part in a documentary about the inventor.  Had articles and reviews written in magazines; gave a public lecture to room full of engineers, and talked to members of  a readers club at a local library and yet …. so far none of the thousands of people I have corresponded with has succeeded so far in discovering Bessler’s secret.

In 1712 when Bessler first exhibited his machine, Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine was also being demonstrated for the first time.  That two such different machines should appear at the same time, each trying to solve a similar problem - flooding in mines - is an amazing coincidence, but an unfortunate one for Bessler.  He was about 300 years too soon, but now in these times of global warming, and high energy costs, his wheel might just supply the energy we need, it’s cheap, clean and simple.That very small niche might develop into the greatest opportunity of this century.

This blog has run continuously for thirteen years and will not end until Bessler’s Wheel reappears and finally refutes the unfair allegations against Johann Bessler, or I run out of time.

JC

NOTE. All the books mentioned are available both in printed and digital formats. See the panel on the right.

The Difficult Takes Time. The Impossible Takes much Longer. I don’t know about you but I think it’s been Long enough!

                                       

                                       HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

I’m back!

Once again we approach the New Year full of optimism that this time we will succeed in replicating Bessler’s wheel. I think that in 2023 the wheel will finally be revealed.  My new workshop will be ready for me soon, to begin building my latest and probably my final configuration of Bessler’s wheel.  It has been more than two years since I had anything resembling a workshop and it has been a time of utter frustration given that I broke through Bessler’s numerous obfuscations and obtained a clear view of the design just about two years ago.

I struggled to decide whether to build a model as soon as possible or publish the details first but I was advised to build it first as any details published before I had a working model, would suffer from critical analysis from the traditionalists, resulting in confusion and dismissal, with a positive reception lost amongst the angry attacks from the objectors. So I will build it first, as soon as my workshop is ready and then publish all the details. 

We have workmen in at present but they are almost finished and soon I will be able to install my work bench and get building immediately - I’m so excited at the prospect of constructing a new working model! As the build proceeds I will give updates on my progress and share some of the new information. 

I mentioned the traditional objectors above, and I have encountered some every single day since I first shared the idea that Bessler might be genuine, about 60 years ago!  Any method used to describe in detail, on paper, a machine which has been definitively proven to be impossible meets with a brick wall of scepticism.  Our arguments are scornfully dismissed as the crazy ravings of a  nympholeptic, (wild frenzy caused by desire for an unattainable ideal.).  

But “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” George Bernard Shaw. This quote relates to an old French proverb, To believe a thing impossible is to make it so.”

There are numerous examples of over-reactions and total rejections to new ideas generated by lots of amateur researchers, and not just in this field. There are many historical precedents, but many of these so-called impossible dreams are said to be due to imperfect knowledge or inaccurate assumptions, but inevitably some of those dreams have been realised and those who have been unjustly maligned will have the last laugh. 

But those who shared their ideas were attacked in the meanest and most offensive way. Some of those so-called “experts” attacked those who dared air their views, ripping into their theories and calling them lunatics, despite the support many received.  All of us in this field have suffered the same reactions since we began. We have been told so many times that Bessler’s wheel is and was impossible and therefore he was a fake and a scammer, do they really think we don’t know the current and past information being taught about perpetual motion?  I understand their reaction, but there are many people who have considered the very convincing circumstantial evidence that Bessler’s wheel was genuine and have accepted it, yet are consistently derided for their delusion. But it isn’t a delusion and I hope to prove it in 2023.

Offering written evidence and drawings simply won’t be accepted; nothing short of a working model will gain credence, and even then a thorough examination of the device by an accepted expert of impeccable reputation will be demanded. I hesitate to use the  word “expert”, because, how can anyone be an expert on something which is believed to be impossible?

It brings to mind Aristotle’s famous quote, “Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities”.  I think as Bessler’s wheel was believed to be impossible, it will turn out to be a more than probable impossibility.

When I first read that Bessler’s wheel was impossible I thought, but….maybe, just suppose it was possible.  How delightful to picture all those dumbfounded “experts” back peddling as fast as they can!

JC

Johann Bessler aka ORFFYREUS - My Biography plus his own 4 Books each with full English Translation. Available from here.

I ran a blog here for thirteen years but as my research is beginning to show promise I have closed the blog until such a time as I can either share the results of my research or proclaim success in building a working model.  The blog closed Tuesday 25th October 2022 and will hopefully return early in 2023.  You can access the whole thirteen years of blogs plus all the comments, from the panel on the right.

On 6th June, 1712, in Germany, Johann Bessler (also known by his pseudonym, Orffyreus) announced that after many years of failure, he had succeeded in designing and building a perpetual motion machine. For more than fourteen years he exhibited his machine and allowed people to thoroughly examine the outside of it, but it’s internal workings were kept hidden. This was because the inventor feared that his design would be copied and someone else might obtain credit for all his years of hard work looking for the solution. He followed the advice from the famous scientist, Gottfried Leibniz, who was able to examine the device, and recommended a number of demonstrations and tests designed to prove the validity of his machine without giving away the secret of its design.

Karl the Landgrave of Hesse permitted Bessler to live, work and exhibit his machine at the prince's castle of Weissenstein. Karl was a man of unimpeachable reputation and he insisted on being allowed to verify the inventor's claims before he allowed Bessler to take up residence. This the inventor reluctantly agreed to and once he had examined the machine to his own satisfaction Karl authorised the publication of his approval of the machine. For several years Bessler was visited by numerous people of varying status, scientists, ministers and royalty. Several official examinations were carried out and each time the examiners concluded that the inventor's claims were genuine.

Over a number of years Karl aged and it was decided that after so long it was time the inventor left the castle and he was granted accommodation in the nearby town of Karlshafen. Despite the strong circumstantial evidence that his machine was genuine, Bessler failed to secure a sale and after more than thirty years he died in poverty. His death came after he fell from a windmill he had been commissioned to build. The windmill was an interesting design using a vertical axle which allowed it to benefit from winds from any directions. 

He had asked for a huge sum of money for the secret of his perpetual motion machine, £20,000 which was an amount thought only affordable by kings and princes, and although many were interested, none were prepared to agree to the terms of the deal. Bessler required that he be given the money before the buyer was allowed to view the internal workings of the machine. But those who sought to purchase the wheel, for that was the form the machine took, insisted that they see the secret mechanism before they parted with the money. Bessler feared that once the design was known the buyers could simply walk away knowing how to build his machine and he would get nothing for his trouble. 

I became curious about the legend of Bessler’s Wheel, while still in my teens, and have spent most of my life researching the life of Johann Bessler (I’m now 77). I obtained copies of all his books and had them translated into English and self-published them, in the hope that either myself or someone else might solve the secret and present it to the world in this time of pollution, global warming and increasingly limited energy resources.

Not long after I was able to read the English translations of his books, I became convinced that Bessler had embedded a number of clues in his books. These took the form of hints in the text, but also in a number of drawings he published and I found suggestions by the author that studying his books would reveal more information about his wheel.

For some ideas about Bessler’s code why not visit my web sites at 

http://www.theorffyreuscode.com/

Take a look at my work on his “Declaration of Faith” at 

http://www.orffyreus.net/

Also please view my video at 

https://youtu.be/5BWVKtpuzn0

It gives a brief account both the legend and some more detail about some of the codes.

The problem of obtaining a fair reward for all his hard work was anticipated by Bessler and he took extraordinary measures to ensure that his secret was safe, but he encoded all the information needed to reconstruct the machine in a small number of books that he published. He implied that he was prepared to die without selling the secret and that he believed that posthumous acknowledgement was preferable to being robbed of his secret while he yet lived.


It has recently become clear that Bessler had a huge knowledge of the history of codes and adopted several completely different ones to disguise information within his publications. I have made considerable advances in deciphering his codes and I am confident that I have the complete design.


Johann Bessler published three books, and digital copies of these with English translations may be obtained from the links to the right of this blog. In addition there is a copy of his unpublished document containing some 141 drawings - and my own account of Bessler’s life is also available from the links. It is called "Perpetual Motion; An Ancient Mystery Solved?" 

This biography contains a wealth of information about Bessler himself, as well as many quotes by Bessler and letters to him or about him from many interested parties. It tells of his life up to and including his years with Karl the Landgrave of Hesse Kassel, and what happened to him later.

Bessler's three published books are entitled "Grundlicher Bericht", "Apologia Poetica” and "Das Triumphirende...". I have called Bessler's collection of 141 drawings “Maschinen Tractate”, but it was originally found in the form of a number of loosely collected drawings of perpetual motion designs. Many of these have handwritten notes attached and I have published the best English translation of them that I was able to get. Bessler never published these drawings but clearly intended to use them in his planned school for apprentices.

You can order copies of the books from my website at 

http://www.free-energy.co.uk/

Printed books direct from the printer can be obtained from here

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/johncollins

Or from the top of the right side panel under the heading ‘Bessler’s Books’.

There are also links lower down on the right side panel.

These books contain the most important information available if you seek to find the solution to Bessler’s wheel.

JC

                                          

                            

Final Blog About Our Search for the secret of Bessler’s Wheel.

I must thank all the kind people who have visited this blog over many years.  I have welcomed thousands of comments, some serious some not so.

I’ve  posted 754 times and received 28783 comments, had 1688739 visitors, from all over the world. It’s been an excellent experience and hope I’ve managed to spread information about Johann Bessler as far and as wide as possible.

I began to write my biography of Johann Bessler back in 1994, but I couldn’t find a publisher then, although I only approached about 50, but my MS was too long at the time and Bloomsbury publishing said if I could shorten it by half they would consider it.  Unfortunately they were taken over by another publisher and their list of potential authors was scrapped.  I decided to self-publish although there was little information available at that time.  I was not computer literate but I managed.  The internet was young and I also designed and posted my first web site in 1997, see below courtesy of ‘the way back machine’

https://web.archive.org/web/19980118081552/http://www.free-energy.co.uk/

Subsequently I had at one time eight web sites, all but one devoted to Bessler, but I let some go but I will continue to keep the current ones, some of which describe the codes and clues I’ve discovered and solved.

I began this blog on 9th February 2009, and I wrote:

“ Why am I writing a blog? I'm not sure, I don't even know for sure what's going to be in it, but I do know that someone (me!) has to get people interested in Johann Bessler also known by the weird name Orffyreus. Having spent most of my life researching the history of this man, I decided to set it all down in a book. The book covers everthing I could find about Bessler but it only scratches the surface of the facts regarding his codes. Yes, he left information about the secret of his machine encoded in his own writings This guy holds the secret to our future energy needs. The fact that he's dead is something of a stumbling block but don't let that put you off. It seems that he left pointers to his secret so all we have to do is find the information, decipher it and build our super new machine for supplying energy. Oh! Did I say he died nearly three hundred years ago? No? Sorry. Fortunately he left behind a huge collection of clues, hints and mysterious pictures all of which form part of the mystery - and the answer. I call it The Orffyreus Code! I know everyone's got codes in their titles, but this one is a real code Now, I've been ranting and raving about good old Johann since 1997 and those who have followed my lead and are now devoted fans form an enormous minority of the worlds population at about 0.000034%. and climbing! Maybe there should be a couple more zeros in there? Enough for now but I'll be back. JC

I’m not giving up on trying to recreate Bessler’s wheel, and I’ve made some important discoveries in Johann Bessler’s clues so I’m confident I can succeed.  But the urge to share what I know so far is no longer a temptation because I know that my explanation through this and other web sites will just get lost and maybe ignored among the competing designs, ideas, simulations and  actual builds.  

There will come a time when I decide to share my information and that will be when either I succeed with a working model, or it fails and I accept defeat. That defeat will allow me to publish everything I’ve discovered and hope there is enough new information to inspire someone else to take forward what I’ve achieved so far.

But if I succeed as I expect, it will be wonderful to prove that Johann Bessler did not lie.  How will the world react to that news?  How many people quietly working on trying to recreate Bessler’s wheel will be pleased and how many disappointed that they were beaten?  How many will claim that they too had succeeded?  I don’t know but it seems to me that at this moment in human history, this invention is needed desperately.

I’ve decided to stop posting blogs, for more than one reason.  Firstly it’s difficult to keep coming up with a new subject after nine years!  Secondly, people get irritated with me because they feel that I don’t keep my promises.  I do actually, I try to keep them open ended, but I should recognise that sometimes they aren’t fulfilled as people expect. The trouble is, I’m an incurable optimist, you have to be, in this field of study, and I keep making the mistake of promising too much, too soon, resulting in a lot of disappointment!  Finally, this blog was intended to provide an open forum for comments, discussion, airing of views and ideas; but in the recent past it has become infested with trolls and sock puppets.  There is, of course, always the option for anyone else to offer something similar or better.

So I’m leaving a brief description of the legend of Bessler’s wheel, and links to all five of my books which always available both digitally and printed hard copy.  I will probably return from time to time if I feel I have something of interest, but at the moment I think it will most likely be because I’ve succeeded - or failed! And of course there will be the publication of my own great treatise on the detailed description and meaning of Johann Bessler’s codes and clues.

JC

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