The Secret Message in Johann Bessler’s Hand

There are other idiosyncrasies to examine in Bessler’s portraits besides the ones I have pointed out on my website at  theorffyreuscode.com  but one I haven’t discussed before concerns the strangeness of Bessler’s hand gesture.  In the portrait below, notice the left hand, ringed in red. His little finger seems to be unusually separated from the next one, the ring finger.  In fact it looks almost as if it was originally placed next to the ring finger but then altered to appear in its current position or if you prefer, the two middle fingers are closer together than the two on either side.

There are several web sites explaining the significance of this feature which appears in a lot of Renaissance paintings. Three paintings picked at random below, demonstrate the point, but what does the gesture signify? 

During the Renaissance period, hands were as important a focus of attention as the face was, because they were the only other visible area of the body. Hence, representation of the position of the hands became a decorative element that was almost as important as the face. Thus, given its high visibility, hand gestures in portraits and paintings have been one of the most effective ways of conveying secrets, codes and messages.

It seems that there are two possible interpretation of this gesture.  First there is Freemasonry or Masonic membership and rank. Apparently the gesture was a secret sign used to recognize masonic followers. The enigmatic posture of the hand has fascinated a lot of scholars of hidden societies, who believe that the unusual splayed fingers represents the letter M, which indicated not only Masonic membership and rank, but also possession of occult secrets. That seems to fit with what we suspect about Bessler, but there is another possibility.

It was Ignacio de Loyola’s gesture for the atonement of sins 

According to this hypothesis, the gesture was a sign with a religious meaning used by Jesuits. San Ignacio de Loyola founded the Jesuits’ Order in 1541 and became its first Superior General. The Saint used to recommend a gesture for believers,  ‘each time one falls into sin, in laying the hand on the breast whilst inciting one’s inner self to grief.’ 

 

There are many more examples of this particular hand. signal in the paintings of that era, but their meaning, which must have been fairly widely understood still at the time, seems to have escaped modern interpretation. The fact that Johann Bessler adopted it in his portrait must indicate that he at least had some understanding of its importance and perhaps we can make some educated guesses given our knowledge of his particular circumstances. Firstly we know that he spent some time in Prague in the company of a Jesuit priest and a Rabbi. While he was there he claimed to have been taught about ‘the book of nature’ and ‘the language of angels’.  In 1623 Galileo crafted a famous metaphor that is still often cited by scientists. ‘Nature’, he wrote, ‘is a book written in “the language of mathematics”. If we cannot understand that language, we will be doomed to wander about as if “in a dark labyrinth”’.

 It is also known as the ‘language of  Enoch’.  Enochian is an occult or angelic language that was recorded in the private journals of John Dee and his colleague Edward Kelley in late 16th-century England. Dee was a man of science-turned-magic seeker, and Kelley was a spirit medium who worked with Dee in his magical investigations. The men claimed that the mystical language was revealed to them by the Enochian angels. 

It is also referred to as Celestial Speech, Angelical, The First Language of God and Adam, because they believed it was the language first used by Adam and Eve - perhaps even the language God used to speak everything into being. They were both active in Prague before Bessler’s time.

Much of the above is too speculative to make any firm conclusions but I think we can say with some certainty that Bessler included the gesture in order to convey some message to those who could  understand it.  

Perhaps someone may be able to provide more certainty either about its wide use, or Bessler’s particular intentions.

JC

The Legend of Bessler’s Perpetual Motion Machine


Please feel free to comment if you wish and I will try to check back daily. So here it is again, 


  The Legend of Bessler's wheel.

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 it. Following advice from the famous scientist, Gottfried Leibniz, who was able to examine the device, he devised 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 several years Karl aged and it was decided that the inventor should leave 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 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 and the buyer take the machine without viewing the internal workings. 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 75). 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.  Subsequently 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 atwww.theorffyreuscode.com or see my work on his “Declaration of Faith” at http://www.orffyreus.net/

Also please view my video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=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 posthumus 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?" 

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 do so at some point.

As I often say, the solution to this device is needed now.  Anything that might help cleanse the planet of pollution, green house gas emissions, by providing clean cheap alternative energy sources should encouraged in its discovery and development to counter global warming.

JC 

76 Today!

 Yes I’m 76 today.  How long have I been chasing Bessler’s solution? It’s been about 60 years and I’ve hardly stopped thinking about Bessler’s wheel in all that time.  I was about 15 when I first encountered the legend of Bessler’s wheel - in a book called ‘Oddities’ written by the famous Rupert T. Gould - and I was immediately certain that the maid lied.  Of course I also realised that that opinion was not sufficient to prove the inventor’s claims to have invented a perpetual motion machine were genuine.  I told my physics teacher about Bessler and asked him if it was possible - big mistake!  I couldn’t even hear his response because of the gales of laughter which erupted after my question.  Everyone knew such claims were fake.  I learned then, not to discuss my ideas with anyone else.

Afterwards, one boy who I had always thought of as clever but boring said to me, ‘don’t take what you’re taught as gospel, check it out for yourself, so you know if it’s true.  Don’t believe everything you’re told until you have satisfied yourself what is the truth.’  Sound advice and I’ve applied it through out my life.

I did consider trying to get more information about Bessler but at that age and without the internet, I had no idea how to go about it.  So I postponed any decision to investigate further to a later date, a year or a decade!

Over the next few years, from time to time, I drew sketches and plans of perpetual motion machines, and resolved to build a few when the opportunity occurred. But you know how it is when you’re young and busy, I had no time or inclination to build.  But when I was 29, I was browsing in a second-hand book shop and I came across the book, ‘Oddities’ by Rupert Thomas Gould again - and I bought it, and I still have it. That book reignited my search for the truth about Johann Bessler.  You know the rest.

So here I am, some 60 years later, am I further on towards the solution?  Yes.  You might think, ‘I knew he’d say that anyway, if only to justify a lifetime’s effort’. But I am.  Even though my design failed the sim test. I remain confident that I know enough of the design to succeed in building a working model. I do realise I’m an incurable optimist, you have to be in this field of endeavour, and it certainly helps if you have the determination to succeed, and I have.  I just hope I’m right.

JC

The Legend of Johann Bessler’s Perpetual Motion Machine

I have noticed that posting, “ The Legend of Johann Bessler’s Perpetual Motion Machine”, which I repost occasionally, has recently gathered a lot of visits from people who seem to have googled Johann Bessler and come here to find out more about him.  I assume that there are still a lot of people who have never heard of him which I feel I should do something about.  I’m not sure what I can do about that until someone discovers his secret, but I can continue to occasionally repost the brief details of his life to get more people interested in trying to reconstruct his wheel.


The Legend of Bessler's wheel, or the Wheel of Orffyreus

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 it. Following advice from the famous scientist, Gottfried Leibniz, who was able to examine the device, he devised 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 several years Karl aged and it was decided that the inventor should leave 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 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 and the buyer take the machine without viewing the internal workings. 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 75). 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.  Subsequently 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 atwww.theorffyreuscode.com or see my work on his “Declaration of Faith” at http://www.orffyreus.net/

Also please view my video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=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 posthumus 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?" 

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 do so at some point.

As I often say, the solution to this device is needed now.  Anything that might help towards cleansing the planet of pollution and green house gas emissions, by providing clean cheap alternative energy sources should be encouraged in its discovery and development to counter global warming.

To recap the evidence in support Johann. Bessler’s claims, see my previous blog at,

https://johncollinsnews.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-evidence-supporting-johann-besslers.html

JC 

The Evidence Supporting Johann Bessler’s PM Machine.

For the last twenty-five years I have been publicly maintaining that Johann Bessler really did invent what used to be known as a Perpetual Motion machine.  Before I even wrote my Bessler biography, ‘Perpetual Motion; An Ancient Mystery Solved?’, I had already satisfied myself that he was genuine by studying the available evidence. Because the events took place more than 300 years ago this evidence took the form of a huge number of documents,  some by Bessler, others by witnesses, newspaper reports and letters.  

But surely such machines are impossible? Scientists, teachers, historians have all ruled out any chance that perpetual motion machines might be possible. Yes they have, but there are two things to bear in mind.  The definition of what constitutes a perpetual motion (PM) machine has altered since 1847 and even given today’s version there are ways to avoid its implications .... and complementary to this is the apparently conflicting evidence that they ARE possible.

I’m not going to discuss the definitions of PM because it’s been covered numerous times both here and on the Besslerwheel forum, but I think it’s worth taking another look at the strong circumstantial evidence.

We should examine the reasons why and how Bessler provided the specific evidence which was designed to prove that his machine was genuine.  Several demonstrations were suggested by the famous scientist and polymath, Gottfried Leibniz, a man of equal intellect to Sir Isaac Newton, his contemporary.  Leibniz had considerable knowledge in the field of mechanics and designed a built his mechanical calculator, plus his interests included mathematics, logic, mining religion and history to mention just a few. He had been able to study the machine on two occasions and even though he was unable to state categorically that it was a perpetual motion machine, he was convinced that it was a remarkable invention and too valuable to be ignored.  There are many letters from Leibniz to some of his correspondents discussing the wheel and how it might have worked.

The first piece of evidence which on its own could be argued as being definitively and unarguably positive, was the insistence by Karl the Landgrave of Hesse that he be permitted to examine the interior of Bessler’s machine before allowing him to demonstrate it at his castle Weissenstein in front of expert witnesses.  Karl was a highly respected ruler and amateur scientist and a correspondent of Leibniz.  He acted as honest broker negotiating between the warring nations of Europe which required absolute probity.  But he was also known as a ‘curious gentleman’ which in those days described members of such organisations as the Royal Society who maintained an interest in studying the latest findings in the new subjects in science, and in Karl’s case sponsoring research.  He had no interest or need to be involved in anything of a dubious nature.

The other pieces of evidence can be summed up as follows. The final machine or ‘wheel’ as it was called, could turn in either direction, requiring a gentle push in one or other direction from which gentle push it accelerated  to its top speed. This should have ruled out any suggestion that it was wound up.

The wheel was demonstrated spinning on one set of bearings, it was then stopped and moved to a second set of bearings a few feet away where it was then given a push in either direction, accelerating again to its top speed. This was designed to allow examiners to check for connections between the axle bearings and the pillars which supported the device.  The bearings were left open and it was clear that there was nothing of a suspicious nature present.

The same wheel was attached to a rope passing over a pulley and from thence down several feet to the castle courtyard.  It lifted a chest of stones weighing 70 pounds from the courtyard up to the roof, and was then rotated in the opposite direction to lower the chest again.

The wheel was attached to an Archimedes screw to pump water which it demonstrated in action.

Finally Karl the Landgrave ordered Bessler to start his machine spinning.  The door to the room was locked and  sealed with the Landgrave’s seal and a guard ordered to stand watch outside the door.  The wheel ran for a total of 54 days with one stop to inspect that it was still working with no undue wear and tear and restarted.  The room had been examined both before and after the demonstration, to check that there were no secret connection to any adjoining rooms.  Nothing suspicious was found.

The other recommendation from Leibniz was to arrange for official demonstrations and examinations to be carried out by experts, ministers, professors, and the nobility, and get them to sign a certificate describing what they witnessed.  They were encouraged to try to discover any signs of fraud or deception but none were ever discovered.

It is hard to know what else Bessler could have done to prove his machine was genuine.  I know that people have suggested some ways the inventor could have cheated, but each of them require the complicit assistance of Karl, or some other person, but frankly such suggestions are clutching at straws.

NB For those who are unfamiliar with the legend of Johann Bessler’s perpetual motion machine, see my previous blog. 

 https://johncollinsnews.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-legend-of-johann-besslers-perpetual.html

JC

The Legend of Johann Bessler’s Perpetual Motion Machine

Once again I’m posting the Legend of Bessler’s wheel because I’m going to be working hard on finishing my reconstruction of Bessler’s wheel. 2020 was another traumatic year for my family and it was a year of unbelievable events and consequences for the rest of the world. There was little time to spend in my garage where the build should have been happening, but time is racing by and I must concentrate on finishing the job. The sooner I finish it the better.


Please feel free to comment if you wish and I will try to check back daily. So here it is again, 


 The Legend of Bessler's wheel.

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 it. Following advice from the famous scientist, Gottfried Leibniz, who was able to examine the device, he devised 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 several years Karl aged and it was decided that the inventor should leave 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 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 and the buyer take the machine without viewing the internal workings. 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 75). 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.  Subsequently 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 atwww.theorffyreuscode.com or see my work on his “Declaration of Faith” at http://www.orffyreus.net/

Also please view my video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=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 posthumus 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?" 

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 do so at some point.

As I often say, the solution to this device is needed now.  Anything that might help cleanse the planet of pollution, green house gas emissions, by providing clean cheap alternative energy sources should encouraged in its discovery and development to counter global warming.

JC 

17682

Update for January 2021. Don’t Throw Out Your Old Designs.

When I look back over my many iterations to find the solution to Bessler’s wheel, I’m amazed at the variety of designs I’ve tried, but some seem utterly useless in retrospect, and I wonder why I even thought they might lead to success.  But trial and error is a great way to reach understanding - and a wealth of experience of failure helps!  But sometimes it’s worth looking back at previous designs with the  improved knowledge of hindsight.

I’m still working on the Bessler project and hoping to finish it with a working proof of principle wheel.  I’m reluctant to share my work before I’ve finished it for reasons I’ll explain, but I’m providing an update because despite recent failed sims I’m still working on the project. There has been some fair criticism that with my recent failed design I did not explain how I arrived at that design and why I attributed it to Bessler’s clues.  I could demonstrate what clues I used and my understanding of them, but without a working model they are no more valid than Ken B’s clues, so until I succeed I will say as little as possible about them.

The reason for my reluctance to share my work is because, in my experience, publishing examples of logical clue interpretation, code deciphering and inspired speculation, however impressive I might think it is, receives little positive feedback.  I think that people are being bombarded with theories from all around the world and without any firm evidence in the form of a working wheel, it’s just so much speculation and hot air.  Everyone has their own pet theories and any one of them might lead to success.

I am making this current version of the wheel according to my personal belief that I know the answer,  which came to me from an article I wrote over ten years ago. It’s ironic that a design I considered so long ago and which might hold the answer was missed and its implications unnoticed.  But better late than never.

I’m working on what I think is the design concept that allowed Bessler’s wheel to act within the rules of physics. It’s not an amazing revelation, just something that clicked in my mind when I considered three apparently unrelated items, a reported feature of Bessler’s wheel and something in the article I mentioned above plus a detail I had been working on previously. 

I feel as though 2021 will be my best shot at making a working PoP wheel, and I’m going to finish it.  I had a huge workshop until 4 years ago when we moved house, then it was the garage, now it’s a small corner of the garage, what next?  Who knows? So simulating may well be the next step - but only after I’ve finished this build!  It it works I can forget the sims. 😁

JC

HAPPY NEW YEAR - Will Bessler’s Wheel Run in 2021?

As we enter 2021 I marvel that way back in the New Year of 2012, I thought that that coming year would see us celebrating the 300th year since Bessler discovered the secret of the Perpetual Motion machine, with a working model of his wheel.   Yet here we are, nine years later no nearer to success than we were back the ....or are we? But as I frequently say, there will never be a better time than right now, for someone, somewhere on this planet, to produce a working version of Bessler’s wheel.  Really, it is desperately important that we solve this ancient enigma, because there is no cheaper, no simpler and more viable an alternative to producing electricity than Bessler’s wheel.

I am well aware that some people dismiss this invention as nothing more than a toy, incapable of satisfying our electrical needs, but this need not be true.  All machines are scalable and we don’t need to be put off by the imagined enormous size of such a wheel.  You only have to look at the modern windmills scattered over the countryside, here in England and elsewhere and off shore to see that they are monstrous sized machines, Typical modern wind turbines have diameters of 40 to 90 metres (130 to 300 ft) and heights of 328 feet, but much larger ones are planned.

So if we wish to consider the potential size of the Bessler-wheel electricity generator, then the main consideration to overcome is not so much the size as the RPM. High speed rotation to generate electricity requires complex heavy gearing, just like the ones in the windmills, and therefor an efficient and heavy Bessler’s wheel is needed to overcome the load induced by the electric generator. But this is no different to modern windmills which turn at a leisurely 10 or 20 rpm, but produce a turbine speed in excess of 3000 rpm.

We might reduce the potential height of a Bessler generator by, in effect, placing ten or fifteen wheels on one axle.  I’m sure that given suitable research an eight or ten foot high machine with a long axle of anything up to 20 or thirty feet would have a far less detrimental effect on the landscape, and it could be located within a building or even underground.

From what I know I’m fairly confident that this year someone will produce a working Bessler-wheel in 2021. When it happens there are plenty of people with enough financial muscle to take Bessler’s wheel, and research and develop it and bring it into use and provide a solution for the cheap clean energy we need.

JC 

A Revision of the Estimated Weight of the Kassel Wheel.

In my biography of Johann Bessler, ‘Perpetual Motion; An Ancient Mystery Solved?’, I gave a fairly detailed explanation of how I estimated the weight of the Kassel wheel.  I did that a few years ago and I think that I overestimated the weight.

So my new starting point was the translocation of the wheel between the two sets of bearings.  Bessler explained that he had to remove the weights prior to translocation because despite the strength of his brother, it ‘would have needed the devil to lift it’. I had previously assumed that the two men might have been able to lift the wheel plus it’s axle and covering oil cloth, if it weighed no more than 300 pounds without the weights, but I now think that would still have been too heavy and prefer to assume an unladen weight of 200 pounds, so they would need to lift 100 pounds each.

How the lift was carried out is not described other than to say the wheel was carried a few steps to the second set of bearings.  I speculated the presence of a movable platform on either side of the wheel, stretching from before one set of bearings to beyond the other, raising the two brothers so their shoulders could get under the axle which was at least six feet off the ground.  But they could also have done without the platform by using a pair of special ‘Y’ shaped yokes resting on their shoulders and high enough to fit under the axle.

Alternatively if they used two long poles over thirteen foot in length, they could each support opposite ends of the two poles which passed along the two sides of the wheel and under the axle, and  simply carry it from A to B.  But those poles would be heavy so would add to the weight they had to carry.  A system based on two specially adapted wheel barrows designed to fit under the axle would have worked, but I still favour the use of platforms because they would also make it easy for the examiners to study the bearings from close to, and from above, as well as below, something they were easily able to do.

So at what weight did it require ‘the devil to lift it?’ We don’t know how many weights there were, but Christian Wolff describes how he was able to handle one of several weights and estimated its weight at four pounds.  If we begin by assuming that there were eight weights, one for each of the eight spokes that’s an extra thirty two pounds to the two hundred pounds of  the unladen wheel.  

If the wheel contained a mirror image of duplicate weights designed to turn it in either direction then the total weight of the wheel to be lifted is 264 pounds, but is that beyond the capabilities of the two brothers to lift it?  I don’t think it’s enough, and of course many people think the mirrored mechanism wasn’t necessary leaving the total at 232.  

Perhaps there were two four pound weights on each spoke?  That would make the total either 264 or 328 pounds if it used the mirror image.  I’m not even sure if Bessler would think that was too heavy, but at this point it’s worth considering how long it would take to remove and replace 32, 4 pound weights every time he did a translocation. How patient would his audience of high ranking men be?  I don’t know, but Bessler was a natural showman I imagine he explained in humorous tones what he was doing and why, but it was still a fairly lengthy task.

Wolff describes the sound of a spring being ‘raised aloft’, but I don’t know what that would sound like, but I think it must have related to the way the weights were attached to levers.  The simplest method allowing quick attachment and detachment  would be some kind of split pin above and below the weights through the lever even so it might take at least 30 minutes to detach and reattach the weights, and move the wheel, each time he did a translocation.

Of course as many here know, I still think there might have been only five mechanisms which would reduce the weight of the wheel, leaving the option to add more weights.

Finally why did Bessler wrap the weights in a handkerchief prior to allowing them to be handled by witnesses? Although Wolff thought it was done to disguise the appearance of the weights I think it was to protect his visitors hands from animal grease used as a lubricant in the mechanisms.  This brings me to another potentially limiting factor - the bearings,

I think the Kassel wheel was designed to achieve the endurance test, so it was designed to turn more slowly, yet still have the ability to lift the 70 pound box of stones.  It also had to have bearings which could survive the endurance test without failing too soon.  They were only three quarters of an inch thick to reduce friction and must have been well greased.  Animal fats or combinations of olive oil or linseed oil and thickeners such as chalk were commonly used but were probably messy and with Bessler handling weights frequently they needed to be wrapped to protect his visitors from spoiling their hands and clothing. Apparently some lubricants in common use were ‘black slugs’ so that would increase the desire not to offend his audience by spreading their residue! 

The size of the bearings must have limited the weight they could support without failing and therefore I would limit the maximum weight of the whole wheel to be no more than 500 pounds, which allows for more weights if necessary. These extra weights might be necessary in order to achieve the lifting of the 70 pound box of stones and the turning of the Archimedes screw. Perhaps Bessler included some kind of bath or reservoir of lubricant around each bearing during the endurance test to maintain sufficient lubrication during the endurance test.

JC