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,
Professor Willem 's Gravesande of Leiden University (who wrote to… Show more
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