I'm glad you drew attention to the pendulum aspect of the two car demonstration, Fletcher.Fletcher wrote: ↑Sat Jul 16, 2022 1:57 amYou are not alone Sam .. we have all tried straight pendulums, and variations of them, with no success. We often keep going back to them in one guise or another, with the same stubborn result - they stand still - or they can't be lifted high enough to reset etc,, and then they stand still.Sam Peppiatt wrote: ↑Fri Jul 15, 2022 4:47 pm Fletcher, I went back to your pendulum experiment. Both pends. are the same length, so the period has to be the same for both. Since the lower one swings farther, and the time is the same, it has to be moving faster. It's a great demonstration for the old question-----------------Sam
PS I hate to admit it, but, I think you are right about pendulums not working; or, if there is a way, I don't know how to do it.
I don't like being the bearer of bad tidings but there it is .. I try to not hide from it and I for one certainly can't escape that reality (not that I haven't tried, many times).
What I can offer is something that helped me mentally re-frame the problem we all face, so I could better manage expectations and not be doomed to repeat past mistakes i.e. analyze, learn, and move on.
And it is this ..
ALL Out-Of-Balance (OOB) devices are just different ways of making pendulums (fancy tho they may be) .. whether they be single mechs or multiple mechs. Once given some lateral travel further from the axle they have positive torque and accelerate and rotate until the wheels CoG is below the axle (position of least GPE), then their inertia carries them on thru the balance point and upwards gaining GPE. They have negative torque after passing thru the PQ point (CoG beneath the axle) because whilst they have inertia they also have 'g' decelerating them in equal measure to what was given.
IOW's we can move objects sideways and create torque and rotation, but we always have to lift them vertically upwards to be reset closer to the axle again to have repeat conditions. And at best it is ZERO SUM GAME. No asymmetric torque, no NET positive directional force, to continue rotation. Geometry can not be fooled. Law of Levers can not be fooled.
This inescapable realization lead me to some conclusions ..
1. JB's wheels did have OOB similarities, I would even say they were mainly OOB wheels (of various formats). The Driver Motive Force that gave imbalance conditions.
2. JB had something mechanical inside that was activated and its action did provide the NET positive directional force to allow an ordinary OOB wheel to reset etc. And this was the magical device (not really - just unusual mechanics) that turned his OOB non-runners into "runners". IOW's his non-runner fancy pendulums into "runners".
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FWIW .. You may not remember but I did build sims and a mock-up of a Ramelli wheel with short levers offset to one side at 45 degs upslope (all facing same direction and same slope). Around them (the roller carrier) I hung a looped chain to act as the Driver. The Ramelli had no torque (couldn't have any torque). The chain was offset to the side of the axle. It did rotate a little but the chain would still find its position of least GPE and settle at this PQ point. Just like any ordinary OOB wheel or fancy pendulum arrangements that rely ONLY on OOB. It visually was about the perfect OOB arrangement with chain continually out to the side - it couldn't reset - that was the clincher moment for me for 'naked' OOB "pendulums".
Anyways good luck to you all the same !
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I'm off in the next week or two to FIji to do some R & M etc, getting organized now. After 3 years away. Departure was delayed due to a small op 2 wks ago and now its school holidays so having trouble re-booking and getting my connector flights. My house there is a tech free zone and I don't have a smart phone so will be MIA for a month or two. Best of luck to everybody. What we do have going for us as a group is resilience and perseverance in spades. And we know we need it lol.
My interest in it was revived by my interest in Cold Fusion and the analogy between Gravitational Field potential and Electric Field potential.
When a chemical process drops down an electrical potential well or canyon on the surface of a catalyst the reaction is speeded up relative to material traveling over the surface. Returning to the surface the electric potential is paid back so the catalyst is unchanged.
Now a 360° pendulum shows the same effect.
The lower half is the fast low road car and the upper half is to the slow high road car.
The important point is that gravitational potential is borrowed but returned. Gravity doesn't need to be used up (one of the frequent criticisms of BesslerWheel research).
It is simply acting as a catalyst.