Robert Parrott - 12.14.2002

(excerpt from an email to Scott Ellis on 12/14/2002)

I found that trying to picture the complete wheel assembly only confused the issue, so I went back to basics, realising that an overbalanced wheel was the same as a pendulum.

Many people understand gears, but because Bessler was a clock maker, he would have had a deep understanding of the properties of pendulums. (I believe the pendulum was first used with clocks in 1656, so it had been around for a while in 1715).

It also helps to realise that you only have to get the device to "loop the loop" once (under it's own power) and it will continue. Your analogy of the garden swing and the small push needed to maintain oscillation is the correct way to pursue this riddle.

Anyway, I hope this stimulates some interesting debate on your discussion board.

Best regards,
Bob Parrott
Surrey, England

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