Posted by ovyyus (150.101.145.75) on October 28, 2003 at 14:01:12:
In Reply to: Grundlicher Bericht - a brief extract posted by John Collins on October 28, 2003 at 12:26:24:
Hi John,
Thanks for the translation excerpt. Can you confirm that in this translation it states that the first wheel at Gera was 3 1/2 *Leipzig Elles* diameter?
Should this not read 3 1/2 *FEET* diameter?
Regards, ovyyus
: I am posting an excerpt from the "Grundlicher Bericht " document because I think it has some interesting confirmatory details in it, relating to wheel sizes etc. In the original document there is, in addition to the Certificates issued by the Court, a document published by two witnesses at the examination, C.Benit and J.J.Walbaum who were teachers, at the time. I won't quote from it because it discusses the various uses that such a machine might be put to and really has little relevance to what we are attempting to achieve here now.
: Although the Grundlicher document appears to have been written by some anonymous person I am quite sure that JB had a hand in its authorship. here is the extract I promised.
: "For, in 1712, during his stay at Gera in the Voigtland, he hit upon the genuine Prepondium, and so it was that on the 6th June of that year he set in motion the first model of his Mobile, three and a half Leipzig elles in diameter and four inches in thickness, for the very first time. But later it was demonstrated on many occasions in the presence of the Landgrave himself and many others persons of high rank, including renowned mathematicians, engineers and scholars versed in all Natures curiosities. The machine was even moved about from one place to another, but never failed to run as designed, and as a result of all this it could clearly be attested that the devices performance was authentic.
: It later came about the Orffyreus moved to Draschwitz, and once again having settled down there, he began to think it necessary to counter the objections of those people who, whilst convinced of the truth of the principle of Perpetual Motion, were never theless certain that it would not be possible to build a large-scale version of the model. So enlargement became a top priority, and at the end of St.Michael in 1713 the fact was achieved as reported in the Leipzig newspapers of November 1714 and also in other German and French journals. The machine was a wheel provided with an arrangement of light boards to conceal the inner workings,; it was very nearly 5 elles in height and 6 inches in width. It revolved with so much velocity that in one minute it completed more than 50 revolutions (thus almost marking the seconds). Unlike the Gera machine, which could only manage to lift a load of a few pounds, the new machine was able to achieve far more. It could drive several presses of considerable weight, or raise a weight of some 40 lbs or more several yards high and, if the circumstances of the place had allowed it, could have actually doubled this performance. This was watched by the Landgrave, other high-ranking people, ambassadors, ministers, famous mathematicians and engineers and other scholars most of whom are still alive and well and all paid tribute to the new device and testified amply to the truth of the claims made on its behalf. However because of various circumstances, Orffyreus decided to look yet again for a new residence, and hoped to find somewhere more suitable to his requirements, and in particular, more suited to the construction of a still larger machine. He eventually found a place that was just right as mentioned earlier, it was in the so-called Green Court, hard by the sixth gate at Merseberg. It was there that, just before Easter this year, he perfected the machine illustrated on the accompanying engraving. The description which follows is internded to elucidate the engraving in a series of numbered annotations.
: ONE is the wheel (the Mobile) itseld 6 Leipzig elles high and a foot wide, covered with a green lacquered cladding to prevent people from looking inside.
: The causative principle of the movement, its ponderous impetus, is designed, after mcuh ingenious speculation, to fulfil a certain requirement. (All this is being stated now or waggoners might use. Instead, the motion is instigated by the lightest possible touch of two fingers, and continues, with increasing momentum, for not merely half an hour or other short period (a criticism which has been widely and falsely publicised), but until something breaks or wears out, or a stronger opposing force is externally applied. With these provisions, indeed, the machine would continue its Perpetual course indefinitely."