Re: John Collins how accurate is this statement from Count Karl from altered dimensions website


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Posted by ovyyus (150.101.145.118) on August 05, 2003 at 20:42:11:

In Reply to: John Collins how accurate is this statement from Count Karl from altered dimensions website posted by Joel Wright on August 05, 2003 at 18:51:42:

Hi Joel,

John is presently on holidays and I'm not sure if he's taken his internet connection along with him. Perhaps he won't mind me commenting...

The information you refer to is from Frank Edwards 1956 account of "Bessler's Wonderful Wheel". To the best of my knowledge, Frank Edwards description of the inner workings of Bessler's wheel is not supported by any historical document. This obviously makes the accuracy of the information very suspect at best.

The evidence, or lack thereof, suggests that Frank Edwards wheel mechanism description has either been derived from highly speculative sources or that he added these details to 'spice up' his story. It would not be the first time that historical accuracy has taken a back seat to 'artistic license'.

The available historical evidence suggests Karl never betrayed his agreement with Bessler and he never described what he saw - beyond his general statements about the secret being very simple.

IMO, speculation is useful. But not when it is pushed as fact.

Regards, ovyyus


: When the oiled cloth was stripped away, said Count Karl, he found himself gazing upon a very simple arrangement of weights and levers. Orffyreus explained that he had conceived a system whereby the weights one side of the wheel were farther from the axle than the weights on the other side of the wheel, creating an imbalance which caused the wheel to move. The secret, if there was a secret, lay in the ingenious manner in which the weights on the ascending side of the wheel were prevented from following their normal path next to the rim. Count Karl said that these weights were blocked by small pegs which swung back out of the way as the weight passed the zenith."




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