Aldo Costa

[Tarsier79]

Jan Rutowski is an armchair theorist, and understands nothing of physics, circular motion, leverage or even how to count squares. The design shows how naive the inventor is. It is easy to educate oneself if you have the slightest motivation to do so.

[Fletcher]

Springs are definitely the right direction, i think.

Remember what ChatGPT said:

It is also possible to design wheels that are self-moving in the sense that they are able to rotate without an external force, using mechanisms such as gears, levers, or springs.

Hello NBT ..

This is some of what is said about "springs". B. disavows their use, but in a qualified way e.g.

JC's AP pg 347

Not for nothing do I set out Wagner's exact words, for by doing so
I can easily get people to appreciate just what bilge the man
produces! A mere turnspit is what he's talking about, as you can
see! My Mobile is free of all such nonsense. Springs and weights
of the kind he describes are not to be found in my machine!

And Wolff makes a very telling comment in a 1715 letter to Leibniz ..

When he put the wheel onto another support [Mesreburg bi-directional] and reinstalled the weights in their previous positions, he pushed down on an iron spring that gave a loud noise as it expanded upwards.

The witness [Wolff] statement of a spring like sound (distinctive) sounds credible and reliable, given the source (tho he was the only one to mention it).

But in my mind that is tempered by B. dancing around a bit. There are no springs like in a clockwork device, or turnspit etc. i.e. of the kind Wagner describes. B. could have just said there are no springs, period (as his defence) ! As well as distancing himself from W.

But he didn't - he over-qualified his defence. That leaves the door open to springs but not the standard use of storing potential and kinetic energy as elastic energy to be released again as mechanical energy, imo. [re : Wolff expanding sound evidence - it would be unusual for B. to make a mistake of that magnitude in front of Wolff, unless it was done on purpose to throw him off, imo].

.....................

As an aside .. I saw a news article last night on ChatGPT-3. People are asking it to write a 500 or 1,000 word essay on a topic. Teachers and lecturers were interviewed saying they would pass the essay with a 'merit' distinction i.e. well above average. Then they were told how it was generated.

The spokesperson for ChatGPT-3 said mid 2023 a new version is coming out [ChatGPT-4] which has an expanded database and is 500 times more powerful.

Let the good times roll !

[Fletcher]

... Supplement on the Costa wheel:

The principle of invention (see figure below) is to place a wheel in permanent imbalance by moving small metal masses (gravitons) around its periphery. On the right side of the wheel the masses are further away from the centre than their symmetrical counterparts from the left. As a result, a moment is created in the wheel that turns it naturally to find a balance.

But it is a lure, because the clever inventor has imagined a device that will keep the wheel in this "perpetual" state of imbalance. To use his expression, "the wheel turns in search of an impossible balance".

It is a system of springs that allows to move the masses away from the center of the wheel on its right edge. The springs are successively compressed (energy accumulation) then released (energy release). Of course, they do not comprehend themselves by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

When a mass is present at the low Y point, the spring on which it rests is compressed, by a kind of eccentric (tensor) not represented on the figure, which compresses the spring taking advantage of its own weight (gravity) and without external intervention. The compressed spring is locked by a cleat.

At the same time, the mass is brought closer to the center of the wheel and it keeps this position throughout the lift phase (left half wheel). Arriving in X at the top of the wheel, the cleat is released and the spring relaxes using the accumulated energy to push the mass outwards, always without external intervention (reversibility). The mass then switches into the downward phase... Thus, very schematically, the state of permanent imbalance is maintained.

In theory the only energy introduced into the system, it is necessary otherwise the wheel would not start, is the energy devoted to compress a first time the springs on the left half wheel.

The wheel starts as soon as you have compressed the springs, and if you block it in its course, it restarts itself as soon as you release it. To continue spinning, the wheel must overcome friction forces. The point of equivalence is the point beyond which the wheel produces more power than it consumes to overcome friction. Beyond this point, the wheel is theoretically capable of producing energy without any external input other than gravitational forces.

The inventor calculated that his wheel would spin indefinitely (if there were no wear of the mechanisms) by increasing the number of masses and with a size of sixty meters.

But here, the current wheel illustrates the principle, but stops after a few laps! A larger wheel would have to be built to verify the validity of the invention.

Of course it would not cost a thousand and a hundred, however no favorable perspective seems to be emerging.

Thanks Shadow .. The wheel is first primed by human muscle power, compressing and latching half the mechs so that the ascending side is 'loaded'.

Then it makes a few turns and stops.

The wired article suggested it could run for up to 3 hours with wind assistance (as I speculated from wind shear because of its height, and why he wanted bigger imo).

Clearly the pre-loading energy runs out over a few turns and it can not continue the rotation and lock and load the springs. Much like a spring powered clock needs pre-winding, imo.

I take nothing away from Aldo's fantastic dedication and workmanship. How hard would it have been to get the gaps exactly right for 236 or 256 mechs etc. Let alone to have it exactly balanced in any position. A labour of love, and steadfast belief.

Best -f

[Fletcher]

Jan Rutowski is an armchair theorist, and understands nothing of physics, circular motion, leverage or even how to count squares. The design shows how naive the inventor is. It is easy to educate oneself if you have the slightest motivation to do so.

Unfortunately I have to agree with Tarsier79. Basic leverage doesn't even work out. Tho it is interesting mechanical principles.

[SHADOW]

Le brevet Costa actuellement enregistré à l'institut des brevets Francais.

The Costa patent currently registered at the French patent institute.

[Fletcher]

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/beverly-clock

Beverly Clock ..

Run on atmospheric pressure and changes in the temperature, an airtight box inside the clock expands and contracts throughout the day pushing on a diaphragm. It takes only a six-degree Celsius temperature variation over a day to raise a one-pound weight an inch. This in turn descends, powering the clock.