For centuries, inventors have sought to create machines that could run forever without any external source of energy. These so-called “perpetual motion machines” were considered the holy grail of engineering, as they promised a solution to all energy problems. While modern thermodynamics has definitively shown that such machines are impossible, during the Middle Ages and early modern period, they still seemed within reach.
Many attempts throughout history either failed to function as intended or turned out to be carefully crafted hoaxes. Johann Bessler’s rotating wheel is widely believed to fall into the latter category—yet exactly how it worked remains a mystery. What made Bessler’s invention particularly remarkable was its ability to convince prominent intellectuals and political leaders of the era, including renowned mathematicians like Gottfried Leibniz, Johann Bernoulli, and Willem 's Gravesande, as well as the ruling prince of the German state of Hesse-Kassel.
Workings of Bessler’s wheel. Credit: Das Triumphirende Perpetuum mobile Orffyreanum
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