The Solution
The author experimented more or less regularly at his workbench for about 12 years in order to uncover Bessler's secret. The tabletop from a round table kit from the hardware store with a diameter of 70 cm was used for this purpose. It was untreated spruce wood with a thickness of 3 cm. New holes could be drilled, elements screwed on, etc. at any time. The back of the plate was connected to a ball-bearing suspension in the middle, so that the front was completely freely accessible for processing. An existing slight imbalance was eliminated by small weights on the back. In this way, the wheel could be turned easily without any friction loss and remained stable in any position after stopping.
The experiments were stopped in 2014 because, despite all efforts, no solution emerged. All materials were discarded. It was not until 2022 that the author dealt with Bessler again in a new time unit. The focus was on considerations of a drive in which the use of potential energy was excluded from the outset, taking into account the following physical laws.
Any mass that moves downward loses potential energy, also known as height or position energy. If you want to return this mass to its original position so that it can develop its effect again, the lost energy must inevitably be completely reintroduced to it. If the latter is to be obtained by the downward movement of another mass (of the same size), the height differences between the two masses (before/after) must also be the same, regardless of where they are currently located.
Because of the statement handed down by Bessler in his Apologia
Of many separate pieces of lead,
It's always two and two now.
If a thing takes its place externally,
So the other one goes to the shaft.
This one will soon be here and that one there,
And so it changes on and on.
the author now only concerned himself with masses acting in pairs, in which the balance of potential energy remained untouched. The following concepts emerged:
G1 and G2 work in pairs. To overcome friction and initiate movement, G1 must be slightly heavier than G2. The sketch illustrates the basic concept. The only purpose here is that two weights are closer and the other two are further away from each other so that they do not collide with each other in the middle. If you arrange them in two layers, one above the other, the distances can also be the same.
The following concept, which incorporates two tension springs, represents a further development of the interaction between two bodies.
As G1 approaches the 90° position, it pushes the spring apart. G1 is initially assisted by G2, as the latter would otherwise occupy a position directly below the suspension point, if there were no tension spring. As G1 continues its downward movement, it pushes G2 towards the edge, further tensioning the spring. In doing so, it utilizes the toggle lever mechanism, which allows for the generation of high outward pressure with only a small downward movement.
As the wheel rotates (>90°), the pressure exerted by G1 on the spring decreases. At 180°, it is zero. The spring is now only held under tension by G2. As the wheel continues to rotate, G1 moves to the right due to gravity, initiating a relaxation of the spring. At 225°, at the latest, the spring contracts, pushing G2 towards the axle and G1 back to its original starting position. This creates the desired imbalance in the wheel.
It is easy to understand that the mass G2, striking the edge on the right side at 90°, produced the noise that the witnesses mistook for a falling weight. They repeatedly reported hearing it eight times during one revolution on the side toward which the wheel was currently rotating. This suggests eight pairs. On the opposite side, the weight G2, as it retracted upwards, produced no noise.
The principle of asymmetrically acting gravity, albeit with a lower output, becomes even clearer to the observer if one completely disregards the body G2. At 90°, G1 exerts the longest possible lever arm on the wheel. Upon passing through the 180° position, its pressure is zero. It returns to its starting position, thus shortening its lever arm to a minimum. It couldn't be simpler.
Springs were part of the perception of contemporary witness Prof. Christian Wolff in Merseburg. He was near the wheel when Bessler was covertly handling it and heard the characteristic sound of a metal spring briefly vibrating. He concluded that Bessler acted on this spring when mounting one of the weights. Since they must have been tension springs, Bessler must have hooked them in and then let them go. It is obvious that this would have been the case with each of the weights and that there must therefore have been several springs in the wheel. This fact is significant because it conveys that the wheel would not have been able to run without springs. Even if Wolff only saw the bidirectional wheel in action, there is a high probability that the unidirectional wheel was also equipped with springs. This results from Bessler's statement that the gravitational drive of a wheel is only possible with a single operating principle. In the article "Speculation", the author states that the bidirectional wheel probably consisted of two unidirectional drives arranged one above the other, which could be set in motion as desired (in opposite directions). This is supported by the double thickness of the wheel and its comparatively short development time in Obergreisslau near Weissenfels.
It is reported that Bessler commented on the subject of springs to people present in Gera. He apparently said that the drive of his wheel actually contained springs, but "not in the way people may think." By this, he meant the publicly voiced assumptions that the wheel could be driven by a wound-up spring.
The author has given up experimenting due to his age. He encourages people who are currently working with Bessler's ideas to investigate the functionality of the above concepts and to report to him about their experiences via the E-mail-address [email protected]. (Please replace the exclamation mark used for spam protection with the number four.)