Johann Bessler
Johann Ernst Elias Bessler (* 1681 in Zittau (baptism on 6 May ); † November 30, 1745 in Fürstenberg ) was a German inventor of several machines, which he presented as a perpetual motion and vorführte. He was also ( then called " quack " ) as a physician and watchmakers worked. According to historical documents, his last name was actually " Beßler ". His stage name Orffyre (or Orffyreus in its Latinized form) results from a ROT13 encryption of his surname.
Life
Before his first public appearance on June 6, 1712 Bessler was a traveler and adventurer who learned a wide variety of technical skills in many European countries and regions. In an Italian monastery he had for the first time the idea to build a perpetual motion machine. In Prague, he made his first attempts, this together with a rabbi and a Jesuit.
On June 6, 1712 Bessler presented in Gera, a wheel that did not stop to turn around as soon as it was once set in motion. It turned 50 turns per minute. The wheel had a diameter of about 141.6 cm and a thickness of about 9.4 cm. The inhabitants of Gera initially showed little interest in this " Besslerrad " - maybe they were confused and put off by the idiosyncratic character Bessler. For example, Bessler made the remark that he had found the secret of eternal motion, and if your bike should not work, so one could cut off his head and this publicly display.
However, the initial lack of interest changed after an official certificate for the Besslerrad was posted on October 9, 1712 for the first time. At that time it was called " certificate", today we would probably say more about " notarization " or " official confirmation ". As with all of the given Besslerrad certificates but the drive mechanism has been described in detail. This was confirmed only that could be added no energy from the outside and that the wheel still turned incessantly. Bessler offered his invention for 100,000 dollars, which was a very large sum for that time.
Bessler moved in 1713 after Draschwitz at Leipzig, where he built an even larger wheel ( after the destruction of the old ), which also could do work. Meanwhile attention had become very large, so that even three opponents Bessler ( gardener, Borlach and Wagner) distributed leaflets have claimed, Bessler's wheel is a forgery ( see figure at right ). Then Bessler destroyed his bike
Later he built in Merseburg a new bike, because the attention was now even bigger, ordered the then Duke Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe- Merseburg, reinspected the wheel on October 31, 1715. Another certificate was added, which was, however, built according to the same pattern as the first. The special feature of this Merseburg wheel was that it was, although it was slightly slower than its predecessor and had to be driven to the start, was able to move in both directions. This was not possible in his first bike.
Bessler aroused the interest of science interested Landgrave Karl. This offered Bessler to include him in his castle and come up Besslers for all living expenses. In return, the Landgrave was allowed to learn the secret of the wheel, where he was allowed to tell this to anyone.
On November 2, 1717, a rotating Besslerrad in the White Castle Stone in Kassel (later Castle Wilhelm height ) were included at the behest of the then Landgrave Charles of Hesse -Kassel ( 1670-1730 ) in a room. The room in which there was the rotating wheel was sealed, so no one could enter it. When the seal was broken on January 4, 1718 and so after 54 days the room was re-entered, the wheel rotated still. No one had access to the room in the meantime. This experiment was based on a bet between gardeners and Bessler 10,000 dollars instead, the contents of the wheel: Gardener demanded a four-week endurance test must be absolutely certain in which the wheel was subjected to an external energy. After losing bet gardener Bessler had to pay the bet amount.
Over the following years the Besslerrad was inspected again and again. Many famous people of their time studied it, but always from the outside, and always has been only checked if hidden from the outside somehow an energy has been added - which never seemed to be the case. Best known are likely to be Leibniz and 's Gravensande, both inspected the wheel on October 31, 1715.
However, when the then very prestigious Dutch mathematics and physics professor Willem Jacob ' s Gravensande wanted to examine the axle where the drive system was hidden, Bessler destroyed his wheel in a fit of rage.
Bessler had his life great psychological problems.
Since Bessler's wheel was famous, wanted two prospects the wheel buy at the asking price. First, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great, but died in 1725 before he could see the wheel, which was a condition of sale for him. The other interested party was the Royal Society of London. This purchase failed to Bessler himself because he did not agree with the sales mode that the money should first be handed over to the Landgrave and only after a declaration of the drive mechanism by ' s Gravensande at him.
Bessler and his bike fell into oblivion until a former maid Bessler, Anne Rosine Mauersberger, on November 28, 1727 informed the authorities that the Besslerrad was a scam. These allegations were dismissed by the court because Mauersberger entangled himself in contradictions. ' s Gravensande was on the side Besslers: He stated that the inventor would have though some mental problems, but functioned independently of the wheel
In 1727 Bessler announced for the last time on the construction of a wheel, because ' s Gravensande promised to inspect it again. It is still unclear whether such an investigation took place. Died in 1730, the Landgrave Prince Charles, so that Bessler now had no protection, except by his son. On May 1, 1733 Bessler destroyed the most important records of the construction of the wheel. 1738 announced Bessler further inventions to: submarines, independent of wind direction and wind mills automatically playing organs.
Towards the end of his life Bessler founded a community of faith, the covenant of the so-called " Orffreaner ", whose main objective was, among others, the reunification of the Catholics and the Protestants. As far as now ascertained, it can not bring his bike in conjunction this religious movement. 1745 Bessler died by the fall of a windmill. He took his secret to the grave, but left 143 technical sketches, which published his widow after his death.
The period after Bessler
After the death of the inventor, it took 36 years until a historian, the story of Bessler led back again into the general memory. As the main source, however, then serving the accusation of Bessler's former maid. In German-speaking Bessler is largely unknown, as opposed to English-speaking countries, Denmark and the Benelux countries.
The Besslerrad
Given the fact that this bike is contrary to the fundamental laws of physics, you have to draw the logical conclusion that the Besslerrad was a very well hidden fraud, no one was able to discover, or that Bessler has really found a today unknown drive form. Bessler himself gave in 1719 on pages 19-21 and 74-76 of his book The triumphant perpetual motion Orffyreanum indication of how the wheel worked. Here he referred to gravitation. Subsequently, these two copies of Bessler's work The triumphant perpetual motion Orffyreanum. The transcripts were partially today's spelling, but not adapted to the present idiom:
" The inner structure of this tympani or wheel is of such a nature, according to which many ad legus motus mechanici, perpetui a priori, id est scientifice demonstrabilis predisposed weights the same after received single rotation, or even imprimierter Force of the swing must kontinuieren incessantly, so long namely the whole structure, it retains some distant eat without aid or intervention of external forces of movement, which would have a resubstitution necessary. Like other car Matis are as movements, feathers and attached or aufzuziehenden weights approximately found. For this my overrepresentation is therefore not attached, nor extra- Mechanismum, or only to konfiderieren as external Moventia that since by means must kontinuieren its severity the Motum or Umwalzung as long as it permittieren the cords or chains, what they hang: But it these weights even the perpetual motion, or partes Essentiale & constitutive of the same which her have the Motu universi bekommene vim & nisum progrediendi in themselves and have to drill infinity ( as long as it namely left out of the Centro Gravio ) after in such a they housing be, or scaffolds included and against each koordinieret that they reach not only the right to never a Äquilibrum or Puntus Quietis, but the same unceasingly seek and or enclosed in their admirable escape to proportion both its own its housing size, other from the outside to the shaft must Axin their Vorticis move along and drive verticalis applicierte loads. "
" The sans reprise but exprimieret so much that it was not a movement, which through aufzuziehende springs ( elateres ) or weights it seie as long as it wants, must be driven, been allbereits Expound above gnugsam; For such machines, which by wind, Wesser, aufzuziehende weights and springs ( should it happen to a lot of years together are driven, the Pricipium have not motus in, but extra- se, are not per se mobile, or moventes, but, but per accidens: such and so that the Motus which machine operators themselves, but their is accidenti own and in the absence of the machine of the same self, let that they should move a dust Wherefore they perpertuo mobile can not be named differently not abusive because. only her moves accidentale is one such, just as I the attached water -screw, stamping and stone box should call such at my work. because they are driven by the above-described Causa said masses, quod durantem materiam. however, Da or in my works of Motus to the power move and get in some formam machine ausmachet, but which is the scaffolding nothing more than another lump of matter and has lost all her Crasin. The halting, or inhibition but the machine which geschiehet by excessive external force is to run a accidence morale namely when you do not want the machine to prolong their conservation without necessity "
Bessler himself described the operation with four pounds ( ≈ 2 kg) heavy, cylindrical weights, always two weights should have worked in pairs and so the wheel is said to be in disequilibrium state constantly. Ultimately Bessler took his secret to the grave, the exact mode of Besslerrades remains unknown.