The Bessler Curse

[ken_behrendt]

I agree completely. Bessler, while a very skilled craftsman and mechanic, lacked a lot of common sense when it came to marketing his invention. Part of the problem, no doubt, stemmed from his own distrustful personality and general disdain for his fellow humans.

Perhaps is was really the simplicity of his design that actually forced him to demand a large up front payment for the secret. Maybe he figured if he settled for a lower up front payment and future royalties, then, once the buyer found out how simple the mechanism was, he might refuse to give Bessler those future royalties! In short, Bessler was in a real bind. Demanding a huge one time payment would turn off 99.99+% of potential investors. But, on the other hand, he probably felt that if he lowered the price, then there was a 99.99+% chance the buyer would cheat him out of what he deserved to receive.

I think that the situation would have been much different if Bessler had been very lucky and managed to find the secret mechanism after, say, only a few months of searching for it. But, it took about a decade of blood, sweat, tears to do it. That kind of effort can really harden a man's heart and mind...


ken

[AgingYoung]

Ken,

I posted on Steve's Street the details of a modification to the current idea I'm considering. It was a slight modification of the idea and I never took any measurements off the simpler idea. I love to complex things. There was a positive average torque with that mechanism (0.3-0.4 marble/inches) but I don't think that's significant enough to invest the time in a full fledge build.

As luck would have it an old idea revisited me. I'm on a build. I've used up every last coffee stirrer I have and I need to go to the ford dealership around the corner. They have free starbucks coffee but more than that they usually have a generous supply of coffee stirrers. I'd just buy some but I don't know where they sell these particular ones.

This next mechanism I'm going to build is going to be an absolute monstrosity; the mother of all mechanisms. I'd like to share some of the idea with you yet I don't plan on being too specific. Steve actually deserves some of the credit for this by belaboring the point of how rapidly Bessler's wheels accelerate. Consider how many different sorts of wheels you've looked at. There's just something about a single mechanism (or several in combination) no matter how complex that just doesn't seem to be able to squeeze enough juice to keep itself moving. I've made some rather interesting ones modeling what I think are sound ideas yet they just don't quite make it. Why is that?

Last night as I went to sleep I thought quite a bit about that question. Most of today I've been visualizing the details of this build. I've made 3 drawings of the details; changing things from drawing to drawing. Well, I could be wrong but I'm pulling out all stops on this build. If it sets me back 30 bucks I don't care.

Gene

[ken_behrendt]

Gene...

It sounds from the descriptions of the small models you work with that you might try visiting a craft shop for parts. They have all kinds of glues, beads, and pieces of wood, metal, and plastic in various shapes and sizes.

Anyway, good luck with your new idea...


ken

[winkle]

question for anyone

if the weights can be maintained in this position will this wheel turn

[fAtnhapy]

Depends on how they're hooked to the wheel.
fAt

[winkle]

what does that matter
as the wheel stands will it turn


pardon me i get you're point

weight is applyed at edge of wheel

[Wheeler]

No
The weights must have a connection somewhere to do work.
Your weights are not connected to the wheel in the drawing.

[fAtnhapy]

It matters if they're fixed or on pivots and where the pivots are located. Looks like 2 weights at the bottom and none at the top, did you mean to do that?
fAt

[winkle]

pardon me i get you're point

weight is applyed at edge of wheel

weights are as seen

weights on left side are at edge of wheel
weights on the right side are farther out

[fAtnhapy]

If all the weights are applied at the edge of the wheel then you would have to ignore that some are outside the wheel and some are inside the wheel. Where the load is applied is what will determine whether it will run or not. The weight itself can be in the next county.
fAt

[Wheeler]

OK
The answer is yes. 100% will work

[fAtnhapy]

LOL, Wheeler are you crowning him "Winkie Bessler"?
fAt

[Wheeler]

Someone has to get the crown!

[winkle]

If all the weights are applied at the edge of the wheel then you would have to ignore that some are outside the wheel and some are inside the wheel. Where the load is applied is what will determine whether it will run or not. The weight itself can be in the next county.
fAt

weight on the right side of wheel but is in a fixed position but only for a short while
at the bottom it will quickly move up

[winkle]

No
The weights must have a connection somewhere to do work.
Your weights are not connected to the wheel in the drawing.

not seen but they are connected

i just need to know if the wheel will turm as it is pictured

if so how far will it turn before it reverses

will it turn 1/8th turn or more

also will the three top weights on right lift the bottom weight