Posted by John Collins (194.164.38.54) on May 13, 2003 at 00:09:09:
In Reply to: Re: Question to John Collins posted by Scott Ellis on May 12, 2003 at 15:40:33:
:Hi SK
Sorry about that, and thanks Scott for pointing that out. Unfortunately there is no indication of where the weights were replaced and we can only speculate. It's worth pointing out that as the Kassel wheel was two-way it was not unbalanced unless in motion. But as the weights were being installed there must have been moments when it was out of balance. Therefore it seems reasonable to me to assume that the brake shown in the drawings, was applied to stop rotation happening. Because of this facility Bessler was able to lock the wheel in any position and then reinstall the weights, and then perhaps unlock it to allow rotation to the next position, for the next replacement to occur. We know that Bessler stood behind the wheel during the weight replacement, with the spectators on the other side, so even if we knew where he was placing the weight relative to a clock, it wouldn't necessarily indicate where on the wheel they were positioned. Do you see what I mean?
John Collins
Hi John,
: Thanks for responding to Seok Kyun Oh, but I think you might have misunderstood his question a little (or perhaps I am misunderstanding!)
: I think the main thrust of his question is this:
: When Bessler removed and replaced the weights in the wheel (such as when it was moved from one set of supports to another), is there any record of exactly where on the wheel the removal/replacement occurred?
: i.e. was it directly at the bottom of the wheel? (6 o'clock)
: or perhaps over towards one side (8 o'clock or 4 o'clock)?
: Thanks,
: Scott
: : Hi Seok Kyun Oh,
: : Glad to hear of your interest in Bessler. To answer your question, nobody knows the position of any of the weights because it was kept secret. All we can do is take educated guesses and there are as many of them as there are guessers!
: : All we can say for sure is that in the Kassel wheel, which could turn in either direction, there were heard about eight weights falling on the side towards which the wheel turned. If you subscribe to the theory, as I do, that the mechanism inside the two-way wheel was duplicated but designed to turn the wheel the other way, then you must halve the eight weights to four, but that may not be the right conclusion, because we do not know whether the weights which moved in reverse still made a sound. Maybe there were eight weights moving for either direction?
: : Bessler himself said that his weights worked in pairs, as one moved away from the axle so the other moved towards it. Did the two weights both make sounds, or was one of them silent in operation. We do not know. So you see neither I nor anyone else can truthfully answer your question.
: : Good luck with your model.
: : John Collins
: :
: : : Hi John.
: : : I am a Korean who is interested in Bessler wheel.
: : : I almost finish to design the wheel now.
: : : But I cannot tell you about the mechanism of the wheel now .
: : : Because I am not sure it is correct design or not.
: : : If I succeed to build, I will let you know.
: : : And I am building 40cm diameter wheel from last month.
: : : It has weights and levers and spring and bearing only.
: : : I have studied for 2 years about the wheel, and I get to a conclusion that building the wheel need great accuracy.
: : : I am building the wheel with the LASER Cutted parts, because accuracy of the LASER cutting is within the error range of +/- 0.3 mm.
: : : I think It is more difficult to make it in a small size. So I want to make it bigger but it need more investment.
: : : I am doing a small restaurant business in Korea, but I think I am not good at the business. Before I was an engineer in GE Medical systems in Korea as an Ultrasound service engineer for 8 years.
: : : Anyway I have one question about the replace position of the weights. Because it is very important to know the position, in order to design the wheel. From the web I got many hints. And I read a comment that Bessler replace the weight only in one position.
: : : If the wheel is a clo