Posted by John Collins (194.164.232.108) on September 19, 2003 at 10:50:39:
In Reply to: Re: Question for John Collins posted by dave on September 19, 2003 at 10:00:29:
I've wondered about this myself. You must keep in mind that this is a subjective interpretation of the noise the witness heard. In other words it might not have been the sound of a spring being compressed. And why, if he pressed on it did it expand aloft? What does a spring sound like - in the 18th century? What does an 18thC spring look like? If it was a spring what possible uses could it have been put to? Remember that Bessler said in answer to a question as to whether there were springs in his machine he said something like "not in the way you mean". I take this to mean that they were used not to drive the machine but possibly to enable it to work. I mean that perhaps they kept the motion of any moving parts within certain parameters.
John Collins
: This is in a staement on the working of the wheel.
: What is the meaning of this? possibly a hidden spring??
: "When he put the wheel onto another support and reinstalled the weights in their previous positions, he pushed down on an iron spring that gave a loud noise as it expanded upwards."