Johann Bessler

Johann Ernst Elias Bessler (born in 1681 (baptism on May 6th) with Zittau, in Germany - died on November 30th, 1745). It is also known under the pseudonym of Orffyre , the transcription ROT13 of Bessler , or Orffyreus in its Latinized version. Clock and watch maker (and doctor) of formation, he was the inventor many machines which he presented as being machines to Perpetual motion.

Biography

June 6th, 1712, Bessler leaves to Gera, in the province of Reuss, where it presents a wheel, which, once moving, does not stop any more turning. This wheel makes 50 turns per minute. The inhabitants of Managed, not very interested by its demonstrations and irritated by the dogmatic character of Bessler, reject it.

However, on October 9th, 1712, the wheel is examined for the first time and a certificate is officially issued. Bessler proposes the invention with its secrecy for: 100000 Thaler S (what represents an order of magnitude of 50 million euros).

After a campaign orchestrated against him, Bessler destroys its wheel and free Gera in 1713. It settles with Draschwitz, close to Leipzig, where it builds a larger wheel. This wheel makes also 50 turns per minute and can raise up to 18 kg. The three enemies of Bessler, Gartner, Borlach and Wagner, make a new campaign and publish printed papers form against him. Bessler destroys once again its wheel and a news, larger recreates some, with Merseburg, on October 31st, 1715. It is examined by order of the duke Moritz Wilhelm de Sachsen-Merseburg. Contrary to the first wheel, that of Merseburg could turn in the two directions: Bessler wanted to thus show that its operation was not due to a mechanism with hidden spring, which one had initially supposed. Although this wheel did not have the speed of the first wheel and although it had to start with the hand to turn (contrary to the first), once put moving, it did not stop any more turning.

It then settles in l´état Hesse-Cassel, where prince Karl, landgrave of this area, offers to him a workshop in the castle of Weissenstein. N the other hand, prince Karl can observe the secrecy of the wheel but it does not have the right to reveal this secrecy before a sale is concluded (the landgrave must pay 4000 thalers with Bessler). After having taken knowledge of the operation of the wheel, prince Karl offers his protection and an regular income to Bessler so that it can build a wheel even larger. Bessler lives in the castle and it will constuira there in 1717 the new wheel, largest of all.

November 12th, 1717, after a request of the inventor, the “wheel of Bessler”, always moving, was locked up in a room of the castle whose door was sealed. One must say, that Bessler made this request, because its enemy Gartner publicly required to test this wheel for 4 weeks; if this wheel n´arrête not to turn and if c´est clear, that the wheel n´est never in contact with another d´énergie source external, Gartner wanted to give to Bessler 1000 Thaler S. If this tests does not function, Bessler must pay in Garntner the same amount. January 4th, 1718 after having noted that the seal was intact, was broken it to open the door. It was noted whereas the wheel always turned at the speed of 26 turns per minute (after 54 days). A new official certificate was issued. Even, that Bessler clearly won this bet, the topic of Bessler and its inventation remained disputed.

During the four following years, the wheel was examined with many recoveries by several scientists, of which Willem Jacob 'S Gravesande (Dutch professor of mathematics and physics) and the mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, on October 31st, 1715.

When Willem Jacob 'S Gravesande examined for the second time the “wheel of Bessler”, he concludes that could not be a fraud, and deduced from it that the perpetual motion was real. But when he wanted to examine the wheel axle, where the mechanism was, Bessler, somewhat Paranoïa that, believed that he wanted to discover the secrecy of the wheel without having to pay for that and destroyed his wheel once again.

The tsar of Russia Pierre Large the, was suddenly been willing to pay the sum requested, but he wanted to be sure before that it was not about a trickery, and this is why he wanted to put himself on a journey. Cepandant, it died in February 1725.

Shortly after died it of the tsar of Russia, the Royal Society of Anglettere agreed with one turn to pay the required sum. One proposed to initially give the money to the Karl landgrave: it would be versed in Bessler only after one study of Willem Jacob 'S Gravesande and a total return on the mechanism of the wheel. Bessler refused this procedure by affirming that one sought to mislead it - and once again, it détriusit its wheel.

Bessler and its machine then fell into the lapse of memory. In 1727, it built a new wheel, Gravesande having promised to examine it again (it is not known if this re-examination took place).

November 28th, 1727, the maidservant of Bessler, Mrs. Anne Rosine Mauersbergerin affirmed with the authorities that this wheel was a trickery but Gravesande protected the invention: he admitted that Bessler was not well mentally but its wheel functioned. The charges of fraud were finally also officially rejected: Initially Anne Rosine Mauersbergerin got mixed up itself in contradictions - and its charges were simply incredible: She affirmed that she had put the wheel moving since another part, that she had received the orders to turn the wheel on the left or on the right thanks to signals which Bessler made him while coughing. That was not credible: The commissions, which had given the certificate to Bessler had controlled, that no contact with another part was possible. Moreover, Bessler would have coughed extremely extremely, and that would have appeared strange. Moreover all the witnesses did not affirm that Bessler had coughed. And finally the charges of the maidservant of Bessler had been uttered, shortly after that Bessler had rejected the idea to marry with it. The charges of fraud were thus finally rejected officially. That did not prevent the former enemies of Bessler from reiterating their campaigns. Bessler, in prey with paranoia, destroyed almost all the documents, models and drawings, because it feared that these documents can be stolen.

March 23rd, 1730, the guard of Bessler, the Karl landgrave, died. In 1738, Bessler announced three other inventions: A fountain which does not stop running, an organ which does not stop playing and a boat, created to prevent the drowning and to fish out a treasure in a wreck.

In 1745, he died of an accident during the construction of a mill with Fürstenburg. He will carry the secrecy of his wheel in his tomb.

Lapse of memory and redécouverte

Already of alive sound, the opinion on Bessler and the importance of its wheel were mitigated. The popularity of Bessler was enormous and suddenly him and its machine fell into the lapse of memory. Many factors played a part, in particular:

the fact that there did not exist yet any system of patent or license to protect the inventions
the obviousness from the operation of the wheel, opposed to the conviction of the impossibility of a perpetual motion
the definition of a swindle at that time and today: Today, one speaks only about one swindle if a third suffers a financial damage. A trickery without consequence is not punished. At the time, it could the being. This is why Bessler was always in danger to be stopped: Only the obviousness of the operation of its wheel prevented its arrest. When Anne Rosine Mauersbergerin affirmed with the authorities that this wheel was a trickery, Bessler was stopped a short moment.
importance of the sum requested
campaigns orchestrated against Bessler
Bessler itself with its special character.

After the death of Bessler, this lapse of memory lasted until a historian redécouvre the declaration of Mrs. Anne Rosine, 36 years later. This is why today Bessler is almost unknown in Germany, where it is evoked neither at the university, nor in engeignement of physics. It is more known in the countries of English language (the USA and Angletterre), in Denmark and in the Benelux countries.

The wheel of Bessler

Since the movement out of the vacuum always requires a contribution of energy to be maintained, it is concluded, either that this wheel is a trickery, or that Bessler really found an energy unknown.

Bessler explained the mechanism with its entourage of it, but he always refused to show it publicly, because it feared that everyone is able to create its own wheel.

In 1719, it gave some very vague indications, in 2 places of its book Das Triumphirende Perpetuum mobile Orffyreanum : on pages 19-21 and pages 74-76:

According to him, the principal mechanism of its wheel is based on weights, which must be placed well never not to obtain a balance, which allows the continuous motion of the wheel. It compares the mechanism of the wheel with the mechanism of a clockwork (and the disadvantages dun such mechanism). (Bessler was initially clock and watch maker and doctor.)

The original text of Bessler ( Das Triumphirende Perpetuum mobile Orffyreanum ) is available here in German and Latin.

By seeing this phenomenon of the wheel of Bessler in a point of neutrality, the principal problem, c´est the definition d´un perpetual motion: Initially, c´était only one Latin expression - traduized in French,” Mouver eternally “. This expression still does not say anything d´une machine. Aujourd´hui physics défine a perpetual motion, like a machine, in a closed system, which permanentement done work. Correct C´est to say, a machine as that cannot function. One with the definition of 3 categories d´un perpetual motion.

But the wheel of Bessler do not n´appartient with one of these categories, because the wheel of Bessler n´est not a closed system. It always was in the gravitation, which is everywhere: C´est why this wheel n´est not a perpetual motion, as definé by physics aujourd´hui, because this invention represented an open system.

Indications

In these two indications, traduized in French, Bessler written (attention: the words italic in Latin are correct; Bessler wrote that, because during this time one was " in vogue" , if one wrote in Latin; c´est a d´un translation German old)

First indication

The structure interior of this tympani or wheel is d´une texture, of which many light weights laid out AD motus mechanici perpetui, a priori, id are scientifice demonstrabilis, contiuellement pushes the same one, after having received a rotation once, and must continue this rotation, if long until all the structure keeps l ess, without l´aide external without external forces of movement, which have need to d´avoir a restitution: this type of things, others automatis, like of clock industries, springs and weights hung, or re-installed are found. Because then, these exès of weight is not hung, nor extra mechanism, or of confiderer, like moventia external, which must continue the motum or rotation, with their gravity, if long strings or chains, or they are hung allow that: But are these weights the their same perpetual motion or leave essentiales & constitutive of same, which has to them vim & nisum progrediendi interior, received by the motu universi and must repeat infinitement (so long then they are external of the central gravito), after being closed in a case, and are coordiniées mutually, to never n´obtenir a balance or punctum quietis, but they are always seeking that and during that with the admirable escape of the proportion, owe mouver l´axe and vorticis verticalis charges it

Second indication

Without recovery shows, that this n´est not a clock industry, which must be to push with wound springs, or weights, like already explained; because these machines, which are started with wind, of l´eau, wound springs or weights (even s´ils goes much d´ans) n´ont not the principium motus in, but extra, then they are not per mobile or moventes, but per accidens: then, the motus n´est not clean of these same machines, but c´est clean d´accidenti - and owing to lack of that the machine remains calm and cannot mouver of dust. C´est why it cannot be called something other than abusive perpetuo mobile, because movens accidentale is to them that.

Certificates

The issued certificates do not bring any indication on the operation of the wheel: they certify only that it was never in " contact" with another part or an external energy source and which it had not stopped turning.

Still today the operation of these wheels remains unexplained. But more for longtemp.

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