This is a true story, not just a legend. It happened and the facts are there for all to see.

November 1716 Kassel, Germany

More than one hundred of the cream of the intelligentsia had gathered at the Castle Weissenstein by personal order of its owner, Karl, the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel. They were to attend an important experiment which would, if subsequent events had gone as planned, have changed the course of history.  The political boundaries now in place would be unrecognisably different.  Those kingdoms, currently controlling the world’s economy through the sale of oil, would doubtless have remained minor entities with little prospect of challenging the old world’s status.

On the fourth floor of Castle Weissenstein, Karl had ordered that these knowledgeable people, each highly successful in their chosen professions, attend to witness the demonstration that had been arranged. They were there to test and verify – or not – a machine which the inventor, Johann Bessler, claimed, was a perpetual motion machine. Such devices were and are, recognised as at least of no practical value and upon consideration, impossible and any claims of success generally viewed with extreme scepticism. However the events that followed proved so extraordinary that, without exception, those present were convinced that Johann’s claims were genuine and repeatable.  It seemed that he had successfully defied the laws of science and astounded all who were permitted to watch the actions of both the examiners and the inventor.

The room in which the examinations and tests were to be conducted was large with a high ceiling and four high windows overlooking the castle courtyard.  Nevertheless, despite the generous proportions of the machine room, as the inventor called it, the enormous wooden construction, set up at one end, completely dominated it, drawing all eyes to its remarkable appearance.

The assembly included some of the most celebrated scientists of the day. Present also were doctors of law and medicine as well as engineers, mathematicians, philosophers, university professors, and senior members of both the military establishment and the religious community. Making up the numbers were many nobles, lords and their ladies and, of course, the inevitable hangers-on.  Across the middle of the room a rope barrier had been placed and behind it was a small dais upon which some chairs had been placed.

Although Karl was there as Bessler’s patron and to oversee the proceedings, he took no active part and allowed Johann Bessler, acting as a kind of ring-master for the occasion, to describe his machine and demonstrate its working, without, however, revealing the inner mechanisms which provided the impulse to make it turn. Karl had taken possession of the large chair in the front of the dais and various ministers and other dignitaries had filled the remaining ones. The rest of the throng gathered behind and watched the proceedings with interest. The inventor, relishing the role he was playing, pointed out the pair of massive oak posts which were bolted to both the floor and also to the ceiling some thirteen feet above.  Thumping his fist on one of the pillars, the inventor announced that these two pieces of timber were made of the finest oak and as solid as the day they were cut down. They provided the substantial support upon which the rest of the structure was mounted.  Between them hung a huge drum or wheel, mounted on a massive axle some six inches in breadth and running the full six feet between the two pillars.  This wheel was capable of revolving steadily and evenly for apparently unlimited time. It measured twelve feet in diameter and was some eighteen inches in thickness. Its weight has been estimated to be in excess of two hundred pounds. It turned at an impressive 26 revolutions a minute and would, claimed the inventor, run forever, or until its parts wore out – or something inside broke.

All that was required to set the machine in motion was the gentlest of pushes with just two fingers of one hand. Then the wheel would begin to spin slowly at first but quickly gathering speed would reach its maximum speed within only two or three turns of the wheel. Rotation of the machine was accompanied by a loud thudding noise coming from inside, and it was evident to all that the motive power appeared to be derived from the falling of certain weights arranged inside.  Although the force of gravity, which had been recently described by Sir Isaac Newton in scientific terms, was known only to a handful of the most famous men there, all were able to grasp the concept of heaviness and had no problem in understanding the putative explanation of why the machine worked. Examination of the machine was permitted, indeed the inventor encouraged all present to thoroughly search the whole structure to see if they could find any external link to some other power source.  Dozens and dozens of sceptical experts crawled around, up and down and all over the machine to try to identify where the suspected external power was connected to the wheel – all to no avail – there was no secret linkage apparent.

  They were aided in their efforts by the fact that the construction included a stout piece of staging which was positioned adjacent to each side of the huge wheel. The purpose of this was not in fact to aid the examiners in their task, although clearly consideration must have been given to its potential to provide such help. No, the purpose of the staging was for an altogether more impressive test. On the other side of the same end of the room, occupying a position similar to the first two pillars, were a second set, also bolted top and bottom to the floor and the ceiling, and each of the same massive proportions as the first pair. The staging ran from before the first set of pillars to just beyond the second set and its purpose was soon revealed to the expectant assembly.

Prior to the start of the proceedings the inventor had requested that in addition to examining the pillars and the wheel occupying one half of the room, those present were requested to make an equally careful scrutiny of the second set of pillars for reasons, which would become clear.  Having convincingly demonstrated the unique ability of his wheel to turn unaided by any external force, he then pointed out that certain rumours were being spread that his machine was, in fact, driven by some external force despite the fact that no one could find anything to support such an accusation. He informed the gathering that he would proceed to translocate his wheel, in their presence, from one set of supports to the second set, where he would then set the wheel in motion again. Subsequent further examinations would be allowed, indeed recommended, to satisfy all present that the rumours were falsehoods put about by certain enemies of his, whose identities were well-known to him.

The translocation required considerable organisation, as the wheel was extremely heavy.  In order to carry out the actual lifting and carrying of the device, the inventor needed to remove a number of the weights, which provided the driving force for the wheel, in order lighten it sufficiently to allow it to be lifted from the bearings.  This he proceeded to do, after having ensured that the expectant throng watching curiously were not able to see the interior of the wheel, by requesting that they gather behind the barrier.  Once his demands had been met he offered one of the weights, wrapped in a handkerchief, to some of the most senior examiners present. One of those present estimated it to be some four pounds in weight but there was no way of knowing exactly how many there were within the wheel.  A second problem quickly became apparent.  As the wheel was so big, even lifting it at the axle, which was over six feet off the ground, some kind of sturdy support was needed to stand on.  And of course a number of paces would have to be taken transferring the wheel to the second support structure. Clearly two persons would be needed to carry such a device – one on each side of the wheel and lifting at the axle. The staging would have to run on both sides of the wheel from one set of supports to the second set. And not only was the height of the axle off the ground a problem which required the staging, but the size of the wheel prevented one of the men who were lifting and carrying it from seeing his opposite number also lifting and carrying.  The whole action had to be organised and perfectly rehearsed as clearly it had been.

Johann Bessler ordered his brother, Gottfried, the only person allowed to assist in the translocation, to take up his position on the staging and get ready to lift the axle and wheel.  He himself took up a similar position opposite his brother and together on the spoken command, they lifted the whole structure and, in unison, carried it a few paces to where the second set of supports waited.  There they quickly dropped the axle bearings into the waiting bearing shells and took a breather. It was clear that the wheel was very heavy, even without the weights, and without their removal no translocation would have been possible.  Once in position, Gottfried retreated to the rear of the room and, having made sure that the assembled spectators were unable to witness the interior of his machine, Johann began to replace all of the weights.

  Once this had been achieved he signalled for attention, an unnecessarily theatrical gesture since everyone had had their eyes fixed on him ever since he began, and with just the two fingers of his right hand, Bessler gave the wheel a gentle push against the rim.  A heavy thud was heard as the first weight fell within the recesses of the wheel and it began of its own accord to turn, accelerating as it did so, until it had resumed its former speed. The audience burst into spontaneous applause and the scientists shook their heads in admiration, bewilderment and disbelief.

Having made his point and having proven beyond a shadow of doubt that his machine was not driven from without, the inventor turned to his next demonstration. He announced in ringing tones that certain of his enemies had declared that his machine was driven by clockwork hidden inside the wheel and that it would run down within a few hours. He declared that he would prove this was a slanderous lie and malicious gossip, in two ways.  He announced that he had already made arrangements with Karl the Landgrave, to organise a long duration test of some two months, which would prove once and for all that his machine was the genuine perpetual motion, so long sought for, but until he himself had discovered the solution, unfound. His second proof would be carried out here and now in front of all these respected and knowledgeable people who had honoured him by their presence at this historic occasion.

With some difficulty he brought his machine to a standstill, by means of a large wooden brake applied to the rim of the wheel. He pointed out that if a man were to attempt to stop the wheel by grabbing hold of the rim he would be lifted bodily off the ground in the attempt. Now he spoke quietly and all bent forward to hear him. He drew attention the fact that the wheel had always turned in a particular direction since the audience had gathered.  If it could be shown that the wheel could, in fact, be turned in either direction at any time, surely that would counter the accusation that the wheel was driven by clockwork and had to be wound from time to time. Surely, he argued, the wheel could only unwind in one direction and would have to be rewound by turning it the other way.  There was considerable discussion at this point but the point was well made and all agreed that this was something that could not be argued with. 

The inventor now, with some self-consciousness, placed the same two fingers on the rim of the wheel and pushed it with the same degree of effort as before, but in the opposite direction from the previous one. Again there was heard the distinctive thud of a weight descending within the wheel as it began to turn again, this time in the opposite direction, gathering speed until it running at full speed.  Again the audience burst into spontaneous applause.  Johann stepped back and waved his eager examiners forward to search for any clues that they might find as to how the wheel was made to turn. They searched for evidence of duplicity, but none could they find. No connections were possible through the two slender bearings upon which the whole edifice rotated.  The bearings could be seen revolving in open shells and it was plain that no trickery was possible at this point. The sum of opinion of all present was that this mighty machine was indeed a true example of the perpetual motion claimed by its inventor, Johann Bessler.

At this point one of the examiners asked a question about the machine, wishing to know how much work it could do, what uses might it be suitable for and what effect the cold weather might have upon its powers. A chorus of questions, rising in volume and intensity as excitement gripped the on lookers, followed this almost immediately. The inventor turned to the audience, raising his hand to hush the voices.  My Lords, Ladies and gentlemen, I shall answer all your questions shortly, but before I do I have one more demonstration to show you, which will, I think, answer all your questions.

He indicated a rope a pulley mechanism which had been constructed nearby one of the larger windows.  Both openers within the frame were open wide and it was possible to see down into the castle yard some 60 feet below.  Outside the window a thick rope hung down from pulley attached to the outside wall of the castle. The rope passed around the pulley and in through the window to a point adjacent to the wheel. Here it had been carefully tied to a hook on the wall.

The inventor untied the rope and wrapped several turns around the thick axle that protruded from the wheel between the wheel’s face and the bearings upon which it rested. Turning to his rapt audience Bessler announced that he was going to allow the wheel to lift a large box full of heavy stones up to the roof from the yard below, simply by attaching the rope to the axle and setting the wheel free to spin.  Without further delay, he gave the wheel the same gentle push as before and as the wheel began to gather speed again the axle took up the slack in the rope. The rope became taught as it began to lift the seventy pounds of heavy stones hanging on the end and the wheel slowed visibly but then it seemed to almost settle into a lower gear and wound the rope evenly and inexorably through the pulley system, gradually lifting the heavy box.

Most of the audience had moved to one of the four windows to watch the steady advance of the box upwards towards the end window.  During this demonstration the inventor drew attention to the remarkable evenness of the wheel’s motion as it wound the rope around the axle. As the box appeared level with the window Bessler quickly applied the brake to bring the wheel to a halt and stopping the box outside the window. A spontaneous burst of applause from the audience produced a smile of pleasure on his face and he signalled for silence with upraised hands.  Now, he explained, the wheel could also be used to lower the weight without any trouble. This time he only had to release the brake before the wheel began to turn pulled by the heavy weight of the box of stones.

To the surprise of all who attended it became clear that the wheel did not run out of control under the weight of the box of stones, in fact just the opposite.  The wheel rotated at the same speed as it had when lifting the stones – a steady 20 turns a minute, this fact timed by several of those present with pocket watches. It seemed as though the wheel had its own internal braking effect when forced to turn by any external force other than that which it used for its own purpose.

The crowd was, to say the least, amazed at this demonstration and, led by Karl, the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, whose castle this was, applauded long and loudly. When the uproar had ceased Bessler announced, with an approving nod from the Landgrave, that a long duration test was to be arranged within the month which would satisfy even the most sceptical of critics.  The length of the test had yet to be determined but it would be sufficient to stifle even the harshest of his enemies as he frequently referred to them.

The above is an excerpt from my new book “THE ORFFYREUS CODE; A BLUEPRINT FOR FREE ENERGY” available later this year  - John Collins

Copyright © 2007 John Collins.