Posted by John Collins (194.164.38.198) on May 28, 2003 at 00:20:52:
In Reply to: Two serious Questions for John Collins posted by D on May 27, 2003 at 14:45:42:
The whole story of Bessler's wheel is one of hearsay but then it couldn't be anything else and that is why I spent so long researching his history, trying to substantiate his claims, if not with proof then with circumstantial evidence. I haven't seen any written account of the wheel by Karl although there are several mentions of his opinions in court reportings and letters. The only written comment by Karl, about Bessler that I have been able to find refers to the maid's evidence against Bessler, where he says something like "we give no credence to her evidence because we are persuaded otherwise". It's the royal "we" and he means that he doesn't believe her because he knows the truth. I have not found the relevant records but the fact that Bessler was never tried suggests that Karl probably worked behind the scenes to free him.
I supported the water idea for some time and indeed proposed the yin yang symbol as possibly being a water-driven machine. It may be a way of driving a gravity wheel but I am most interested in how Bessler did it and I don't think that he used a water in his machines. Making things water tight is a real problem and I guess that such a device would lose water at some rate due to leakage and evapouration.
Your idea of using a weight to displace water is interesting but on first view I feel that with the friction on the sides of the water container and the replacement of water displaced, with a falling weight, it would have no significant advantage. But I may be wrong, I'll give it more consideration and get back to you if I can think of a way to use it.
JC
: Hi John. Okay here goes.
: Since Bessler never publicly or privately (except for one man) showed the inner workings of his wheel to anyone Any attempt to claim his wheel was real is based on heresay, and should be dismissed-for the sake of this question. It seems to me that in fact the whole of it should be dismissed except there is that one piece of real recored history. He did show it to one man, a very powerful man, and this man, his patron, the Landgrave Karl of Hesse said that what he had was real. Thought as a second part of this question did he ever say so in his own writting? I've seen your (and others) posting that he was misquoted. So... Bessler went to trial in 1727. Why didn't this very powerful man come and vindicate him? Did they have their respective falling out during this time? If so, if Karl was so honourable...why still didn't he come to his aid?
: Second question, going back to Bessler's fluid themes. Water or fluid sitting in a rotating cylindrically shaped vessal is going to stay pretty much horizontal, unless forced upon by friction from the rotating vessles walls, or a purposefully placed inner paddle. What do you think of the idea of a falling weight used to displace the main body of water to change the center of gravity? This can be done on the wheel as a whole, or in individually cylidrically shaped "weights". Or... from on vessal feeding ointo another by say, the yin yang symbol?
: Regards,
: D.