Posted by John Collins (194.164.38.155) on April 25, 2003 at 12:16:23:
First of all thank you Scott for your kind words although it is only because of my own curiosity about Bessler that I acquired whatever information was available. I published it because I thought that no one else was aware of Bessler and his accomplishment and I wanted others to examine the evidence and that is why I welcome this forum on besslerwheel.com.
David writes "The wise will find that only through relentless questioning can the unknown hope to become known." David it was my relentles questioning that uncovered all that we know about Bessler.
David believes that I am pro Bessler and indeed I am. But it is not blind faith. The reason I began to research Bessler was because I thought that there were inconsistencies in the story as I knew it then, as told by Lieut.-Commander Rupert T. Gould, famous for his work on the history and development of the marine chronometer made by John Harris. It was this book, called "Oddities; A Book of Unexplained Facts", first published in London in 1928 by Philip Allan & Co. Ltd., which was based on actual historical documents, which caught my imagination.
The result of my investigations seemed to point to some unexplained method of powering his wheel, simply because the method as described was not possible. Now you may disagree with me about this fact - I know David does. Although it may seem circumstantial rather then hard evidence, I do speak as a qualified engineer of some thirty years experience as a problem solving mechanical technician. People actaully pay me for my advice so presumably some people must think I know what I am talking about.
So when I say that you cannot drive a (roughly) twelve foot diameter wheel weighing (let us be conservative and suggest 100LBS) through two bearings measuring (variously described as) three-quarters of an inch and a quarter of an inch, up to full speed of (roughly) one revolution per second within three turns -and drive a pulley to raise a weight of seventy pounds up in the air several feet, I mean it. It can't be done - unless it is powered from some internal mechanism not connected to the bearings.
Now any internal source of power simply will not drive a heavy wheel for 54 days (24 hours a day)apart from one brief break to see if all was OK, without running out of energy, long before that. According to legend Bessler's wife, brother, maid and nine year old daughter turned the wheel during that period. Such a method is nigh on impossible and certainly implausible. Each would have to spend an average of six hours a day turning the wheel from an adjoining room. Apart from the extremely unlikely scenario described above, such a method of turning the wheel is frankly impossible.
We are, therefore, left to conclude that there was an application of some exterior force driving the wheel through its internal mechanism. Bessler said there were weights driving his wheel. Why would he lie? He intended to sell the machine as soon as possible. The truth, what ever it was, would become known immediately it was sold. If weights drove his machine then ultimately gravity was the force behind it. In my opinion we are still searching for a simple mechanical arrangement that will make use of gravity to turn the wheel.
Sorry for this long post - John Collins