Philosophy
Abstract...
In the early 18th century, J. E. E. Bessler, known as Orffyreus, constructed several wheels that he claimed could keep turning forever, powered only by gravity. He never revealed the details of his invention, but he conducted demonstrations (with the machine’s inner workings covered) that persuaded competent observers that he might have discovered the secret of perpetual motion. Among Bessler’s defenders were Gottfried Leibniz, Johann Bernoulli, Prof. Willem ’s Gravesande of Leiden University (who wrote to Isaac Newton on the subject), and Prince Karl, ruler of the German state of Hesse-Kassel. We review Bessler’s work, placing it within the context of the intellectual debates of the time about mechanical conservation laws and the (im)possibility of perpetual motion. We also discuss Bessler’s long career as a confidence man, the details of which were discussed in popular German publications from the 19th century but have remained unfamiliar to authors in other languages.
"The Mechanical Career of Councillor Orffyreus,
Confidence Man" by Alejandro Jenkins
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Philosophy
J. E. E. Bessler [Orffyreus]...an 18th Century con man?
Diagram of the wheel built by Orffyreus in Merseburg, taken from and based on an engraving published by Orffyreus in 1715. On the left is a side view and on the right a frontal view, both of the same device. The driving mechanism is supposedly hidden within the wheel. The three-bobbed pendula on the front and back of the wheel merely regulate its speed of rotation. The device is shown lifting a weight attached to a rope that wraps around the axle.
Abstract...
In the early 18th century, J. E. E. Bessler, known as Orffyreus, constructed several wheels that he claimed could keep turning forever, powered only by gravity. He never revealed the details of his invention, but he conducted demonstrations (with the machine’s inner workings covered) that persuaded competent observers that he might have discovered the secret of perpetual motion. Among Bessler’s defenders were Gottfried Leibniz, Johann Bernoulli, Prof. Willem ’s Gravesande of Leiden University (who wrote to Isaac Newton on the subject), and Prince Karl, ruler of the German state of Hesse-Kassel. We review Bessler’s work, placing it within the context of the intellectual debates of the time about mechanical conservation laws and the (im)possibility of perpetual motion. We also discuss Bessler’s long career as a confidence man, the details of which were discussed in popular German publications from the 19th century but have remained unfamiliar to authors in other languages.
"The Mechanical Career of Councillor Orffyreus,
Confidence Man" by Alejandro Jenkins
- Newton's Spooky Coat Of Arms
After Isaac Newton was knighted by Queen Anne in 1705 he adopted an unusual coat of arms: a pair of human tibiæ crossed on a black background, like a pirate flag without the skull. After some general reflections on Newton’s monumental scientific achievements...
- Johann Nepomuk Maelzel's Mechanical Orchestras
Composer's Datebook... Maelzel's Mechanical Wonders On today's date in 1838, the crew of the American brig Otis, docked in the harbor of La Guiara, Venezuela, was about to set sail for Philadelphia, when they discovered that one of their...
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These are curious mechanical devices. Wikipedia... Volvelles, also called wheel charts, are a type of slide chart, paper constructions with rotating parts. It is considered an early example of a paper analog computer. Volvelles have been produced to...
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Spirit's last tracks. This view from Spirit's navigation camera shows tracks left by the rover as it drove backward, dragging its inoperable right-front wheel, to the location where the rover became trapped in soft sand in April 2009. It's...
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Barrie W. Jones's "Mars before the space age" [recently published in the International Journal of Astrobilogy (Volume 7, Number 2, pp. 143-155, 2008)] has provided a succinct thirteen page history of Mars...pre-Mariner 4. Abstract: Mars has surely...