Posted by John Collins (194.164.232.108) on July 13, 2003 at 11:25:52:
In Reply to: Measurement Variations posted by ovyyus on July 13, 2003 at 03:28:57:
I would say that the problem with the varying measurements lies in the fact that in 18th Century Germany, measurements varied from city to city. It specifically states that the Kassel wheel was about 12 Leipzig ells in diameter. A Leipzig ell was slightly different to a Merseburg ell and also to, say, a Hanover ell. We don't know whether the witnesses took their own measurements or merely repeated those that they were given by the inventor. We also don't know whether the measurements were exact or approximate. To add to the difficulties the measurements were translated into English measurements in some case, so when the witness says the wheel was about twelve feet in diameter, we have no idea exctaly what that means. All we can do is take it as a guide and work from there. In the end the diffences are small, and in my opinion not worth worrying about since Bessler said that he had devised his final machine to be capable of revolving without having to worry about whether a particular weight was greater or lesser than another one being used.
I assume that the majority of measurements have been derived from my book on the subject and therefore they all come from a common source. Other books written about Bessler derive from mostly the same sources as well, although I believe that I have found more original ones than they did, I think that the best we can do is assume for the time being an approximate measurement and refine them if and when the evidence arises.
So I agree with Ovvyus, we can work with these figures and establish working hypotheses in order to replicate the original.
John
: Hi Scott,
: I recently recieved an email from someone asking why the various wheel measurements listed on orffyre.com are so different to those on besslerwheel.com. I'm sure you'd agree it's a pretty good question.
: Do you think it's possible to resolve these discrepencies, based on the available historical information? Or do you think there will always be subjective variations that will prevent exact knowledge on the matter?
: My feeling is that we have enough solid historical data to make firm conclusions.
: Thanks Scott.
: Regards, ovyyus