Posted by MrTim (152.163.252.134) on September 12, 2003 at 16:18:23:
In Reply to: No mystery - just blood sweat and tears posted by John Collins on September 12, 2003 at 11:02:04:
: The truth is that there are as many mechanical variations available to us as the wit of man is able to invent them. I’ve been picking at this problem for some forty years if you count my first day-dreamings about it, and I know that every time my “solution” fails I can come up with an alterntive that seems far more likely to succeed. I don’t know how many “solutions” I have come up with but I tried to work it out the other day and it lies somewhere between 200 and 1000.
I counted my attempts, experiments, variations, etc. a few months ago. So far I'm up to about 4800 (!)
: So keep at it, we have not yet found the correct mechanical arrangment but someone will and soon I think. No mystery , just dogged determination and endless patience with a touch of experience and several subtle clues from Bessler. He did it first without knowing for sure that it could be done. We at least have the advantage that we know it can be done.
: John Collins
Persistence is indeed the key. I try everything, no matter how unlikely it looks. Even things that don't work sometimes act in surprising and unexpected ways!
MrTim