To paraphrase Bessler "There is more to the game of conkers than meets the eye" :=)
For the unfortunate/underprivilged who don't know what conkers is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conkers
vid : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_j4BtYGufY
An interesting variant : http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/van-conkers
What's this got to do with Pm wheels and "OU" ? In spite of the figures being very out on my last vid on the bouncy ball "fling" wheel, the principle has applications. The speed of the flung weight. Then look at a Newton's cradle with just two balls.
Anyhow, Bessler, if he did have a runner, and if we give credence to his clues : that thing about "games children play". My guess is conkers. Or an early variant of that game. Fits in with the tether stuff too. Might be worth looking at ?
Bessler was bonkers. Did he play conkers ?
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nicbordeaux
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justalabrat
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re: Bessler was bonkers. Did he play conkers ?
This is an example of why I love this Bessler Forum, any little nuance of Herr Besslers life, words, pictures or whatever is examined for clues to his wheel!
I hope you guys do discover how he made his wheels turn very soon! We could use a bunch of them about now.
I hope you guys do discover how he made his wheels turn very soon! We could use a bunch of them about now.
re: Bessler was bonkers. Did he play conkers ?
Great Nick - lets go for the Olympics ;-)
Contradictions do not exist.
Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises.
You will find that one of them is wrong. - Ayn Rand -
Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises.
You will find that one of them is wrong. - Ayn Rand -
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nicbordeaux
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Great topic Nick. The relationship to Newtons balls is not lost on me. But I have a thought for you to consider: you seem to be concentrating on the impact aspect of the conkers. I suggest that the impact is merely the end result of the energy gain (the measure of who wins being who can smash the other conker).
Perhaps what Bessler meant by "more than meets the eye" (assuming he actually said something like this - it's news to me...) is what actually accelerates the conker in the first place.
Sorry to sound like a stuck record, but I have to refer to Pequaide's Bolas experiment. The conker is an example of a small mass being accelerate via a tether. A slow but forceful impulse is applied by hand to one end of the tether, and as a result the small mass accelerates violently - reaching the high velocity needed to have the Energy to smash the competition.
Imagine the conker is the driver mass for a Pequaide A/Atwood device that accumulates a lot of momentum over a slow fall (Force x Time). Then the tether becomes the Peqaide B/Bolas impulse transformation stage that converts the heavy/slow momentum into light/fast momentum.
Bessler refers to multiple impacts/hammer receives many blows/shadow boxers, etc. He also refers to tethers/dog on leash etc. I believe he refered to many holes through the axles, which suggest to me a convenient place for the tethers to pass through. The MT where he says (paraphrased) "and you still don't get it yet?" seems to show compartments that have a degree of freedom to move inside the outer wheel. The weights are rumoured to have holes through them.
I could imagine a Bessler wheel using the weights just like conkers on a tether which passes through the axle. Significantly, the pairs of compartments and weights would be interconnected. The idea being that a 'conker' slowly accelerates a compartment (hence the whole wheel) as it falls from 12 to 6. At which point the tether reaches the end, tightens, and applies a forceful tug to another conker which suddenly flys upwards to reset the cycle. To do this, the compartments would need that small amount of 'slop' to allow it to provide the necessary tug to the tether.
No - i'm not going to draw it. I've probably said too much as is.
Perhaps what Bessler meant by "more than meets the eye" (assuming he actually said something like this - it's news to me...) is what actually accelerates the conker in the first place.
Sorry to sound like a stuck record, but I have to refer to Pequaide's Bolas experiment. The conker is an example of a small mass being accelerate via a tether. A slow but forceful impulse is applied by hand to one end of the tether, and as a result the small mass accelerates violently - reaching the high velocity needed to have the Energy to smash the competition.
Imagine the conker is the driver mass for a Pequaide A/Atwood device that accumulates a lot of momentum over a slow fall (Force x Time). Then the tether becomes the Peqaide B/Bolas impulse transformation stage that converts the heavy/slow momentum into light/fast momentum.
Bessler refers to multiple impacts/hammer receives many blows/shadow boxers, etc. He also refers to tethers/dog on leash etc. I believe he refered to many holes through the axles, which suggest to me a convenient place for the tethers to pass through. The MT where he says (paraphrased) "and you still don't get it yet?" seems to show compartments that have a degree of freedom to move inside the outer wheel. The weights are rumoured to have holes through them.
I could imagine a Bessler wheel using the weights just like conkers on a tether which passes through the axle. Significantly, the pairs of compartments and weights would be interconnected. The idea being that a 'conker' slowly accelerates a compartment (hence the whole wheel) as it falls from 12 to 6. At which point the tether reaches the end, tightens, and applies a forceful tug to another conker which suddenly flys upwards to reset the cycle. To do this, the compartments would need that small amount of 'slop' to allow it to provide the necessary tug to the tether.
No - i'm not going to draw it. I've probably said too much as is.
With due acknowledgement to author John Collins for his translation of Bessler's Apologia Poetica:
A driver drives, a runner runs: in my imagined scenario, the sloppy compartments in the wheel become the driver. The tethered weights become the runner.
A seer sees, a buyer buys: interestingly, a tether passing through a hole in an axle would function a little like a timed gate. Unless the cord was aligned straight through, it would be effectively locked to the axle. But at the right time, it would become free to move. Like a buyer waiting for the right time to buy. Or like a modern camshaft or an optical sensor (a seer?).
FWIW.
A driver drives, a runner runs: in my imagined scenario, the sloppy compartments in the wheel become the driver. The tethered weights become the runner.
A seer sees, a buyer buys: interestingly, a tether passing through a hole in an axle would function a little like a timed gate. Unless the cord was aligned straight through, it would be effectively locked to the axle. But at the right time, it would become free to move. Like a buyer waiting for the right time to buy. Or like a modern camshaft or an optical sensor (a seer?).
FWIW.