Nexus - 0601 - New Times Magazine-pages

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century. However, earlier than that, in 1623, the King of townsfolk seeing his wonderful wheel, but he was not prepared to England passed an Act which eventually led to the establish- risk the secret of its construction becoming known. So, following ment of the British Patent Office. Inventors were allowed to his brother Gottfried's advice, he began to ask a small charge for retain the rights to their own invention and to secure a monopoly admission, giving all proceeds to the poor, and this did help to on their idea for a certain length of time; thus they were given a reduce the crowds to more manageable numbers. [ens that ‘perpetual motionists' were busy in the 18th but even this was insufficient. He had no desire to prevent the chance to develop their invention and exploit it without competi- The machine was not large; it was three feet (just under a tion. In 1635, a patent was granted for a perpetual motion metre) in diameter and four inches (about 10 centimetres) in machine, but we know nothing about it, as no description exists. depth. It was held stationary by a cord attached to the rim. As In 1903, some 268 years later, nine applications for perpetual- soon as the cord was released, the wheel began to revolve, slowly motion-related devices were received by the patent office. In at first but gathering speed rapidly until it was revolving at a those intervening years the patent office dealt with over 600 appli- speed of 50 revolutions a minute. It had to be forcibly stopped, cations that claimed designs for a perpetual motion machine! but, according to the inventor, if allowed to it would spin at this It did not end then, but perhaps due to the improvement in edu- speed until the parts wore out. He promised that a larger machine cation of more people and the widely held belief in the impossi- could be constructed which would be much more powerful. bility of perpetual motion, potential claimants to the secret have discovered that ews of Orffyreus' wheel spread to the discretion is the best policy against a scorn- N° est corners of the Western ful public. Little is heard of the secret exper- world. In England it met an impres- iments in sheds and garages by amateur sive wall of disbelief, among the scientific inventors still trying to solve the ancient puz- community at least. Reports reached the ear zle. However, a glance through the back of Peter the Great, Czar of all Russia, who ie Nen such wer Mown publications as Over the next four years, went fo considerable lengths to buy the ife, Newsweek, Smithsonian, Esquire an secret. Perpetual motion was discussed by Science Digest will reveal articles on several Orffyreus responded to scientists, philosophers, statesmen, envoys mater of time before they solve the conn. | VF MOTE restrictive | eae tual motion was possible and drum with a working model demonstrating demands and more whether Orffyreus had to be a fraud and a perpetual motion. i charlatan to make such claims. Anyway, severe requirements how could a mere market trader have discov- S uppose one man did claim to have that his machines ered something that had eluded the finest discovered the secret. What if he i intellects the world had ever known? did make a working model? perform this test or But Orffyreus was far from a mere market trader. The general populace was curious about Orffyreus' invention, but the same could not be said for the intellec- tuals. Letters virtually spitting venom were fired off from one scientist to another in an attempt to prove that Orffyreus was a liar. Others refused to discuss the matter; their open, enquir- ing minds snapped shut. The most vociferous and therefore What if he exhibited it to the public? What if he submitted it for testing by the top scientists of the day? What if it passed every single test that could be devised? And what if he offered it for sale for £20,000, but was unable to find a buyer who would adhere to his strict but fair conditions? What if one man did all that, and eventually died in poverty thirty-three years later, still exhibiting his machine, still hoping that someone would believe him, and still the most widely listened to, was a small with his secret unrevealed, unsold and group of men from the town of unsolved? Can this be possible? Could someone have succeeded Dresden, led by the Master Model-maker to the King of Poland. that test, by producing improved wheel after improved wheel. where all before had failed? This man, Andreas Gartner, published—or had published by his Astonishingly, history does record just such a man. His full followers—the most slanderous tracts and pamphlets mocking name was Johann Ernst Elias Bessler (1680?-1745), but he was Orffyreus or challenging him to come clean and admit that his better known by his coded pseudonym, 'Orffyreus'. machine was a fake. There was no recourse to the law, such as a Nearly 300 years ago in a small town in Germany, a most claim for libel, so there was little Orffyreus could do other than go remarkable thing happened. Johann Bessler, or Orffyreus as he into print to defend himself. This he did with great enthusiasm, liked to be called, had perfected his new invention, and he let the —_ pouring out on paper all his hurt and injured pride. local people into his house to see it in the hope of his selling the Over the next four years, Orffyreus responded to ever more secret to some wealthy patron for a large sum of money. The pre- restrictive demands and more severe requirements that his cise date was 6 June 1712 and the town was Gera. machines perform this test or that test, by producing improved Reaction to Orffyreus' invention surpassed his expectations. wheel after improved wheel. Word spread and a crowd gathered around the device (which took After the success of his first wheel, the small one at Gera, the form of a narrow drum mounted on a pair of supports). Orffyreus constructed a larger version which measured five feet Things got to the stage where the inventor had to close the exhibi- (1.5 metres) in diameter and turned as the others had done, with- tion. Later, Orffyreus had the machine cordoned off in an attempt out stopping. Wonderful as this machine was, it still attracted to control the viewing of his prototype perpetual motion machine, criticism: "It is still too small"; or "A larger one would be more but even this was insufficient. He had no desire to prevent the townsfolk seeing his wonderful wheel, but he was not prepared to risk the secret of its construction becoming known. So, following his brother Gottfried's advice, he began to ask a small charge for admission, giving all proceeds to the poor, and this did help to reduce the crowds to more manageable numbers. The machine was not large; it was three feet (just under a metre) in diameter and four inches (about 10 centimetres) in depth. It was held stationary by a cord attached to the rim. As soon as the cord was released, the wheel began to revolve, slowly at first but gathering speed rapidly until it was revolving at a speed of 50 revolutions a minute. It had to be forcibly stopped, but, according to the inventor, if allowed to it would spin at this speed until the parts wore out. He promised that a larger machine could be constructed which would be much more powerful. perform this test or that test, by producing improved wheel after improved wheel. NEXUS - 55 demands and more severe requirements that his machines DECEMBER 1998 - JANUARY 1999