I have mentioned the “craftsman phrase” on my blog, several times and I suggested that it meant that the fallen weight only needed to be lifted 30 degrees. Below is another illustration from Bessler’s “Das Triumphant Orffyrean Perpetual Motion” (DT) which repeats the same information graphically. This one is ingenious.
As usual I have included a pentagon because it’s a vital ingredient in Bessler’s wheel and as you’ll see, it’s presence is implied. Another feature of all the illustrations in DT is his use of the numbering of each part. The first picture in DT, which shows the Merseburg wheel, includes the numbers from 1 to 24, which totals 660. He embedded a clock within the picture, 660 divided by the 12 hours equals 55. Yes there it is again, his recurring number 55. You can find several references to the use of the clock in my blog, just use the search box at the bottom of the right side panel.
The same applies in the following illustration. He only uses the numbers from 1 to 10, but added together they total 55 - there’s definitely a theme here! - and when all the numbers in the right hand picture are added together they also total 55.
In the illustration below, I have filled in the pentagram in red. Originally the two drawings were on adjacent but separate pages. In the crease of the binding there were two rows of black and white lines allowing one to push together the two pages to make a perfect join at their two black borders as in the illustration.
The red line extends the upper right side of a pentagram in the left hand drawing, to coincide with the centre of the right circle. The triangle has a bottom angle of 30 degrees, and an upper right angle of 72 degrees and the remaining one, 78 degrees to complete the triangle. In a pentagram that triangle has two 72 degree angles and one 36 degree but in this case the small bottom angle measures 30 degrees so the upper right one is 72 degrees which means the remaining one has to be 78 degrees.
Notice that in the the left picture the wheel contains horizontal hatchings and outside of the wheel they are vertical. In the right picture the hatch marks are vertical and there are none outside the wheel. The left picture is cut off on the right side. It looks as though we are meant to slide the right one over to the left, above the left one.
The elliptical or ovoid shape on the bottom of the triangle is designed to tell us to rotate the whole pendulum around it. I realised this was necessary because of the three lines coming out of it seemed to suggest this as a possibility. and because we know the 30 degrees is the size of the lift required in Bessler’s connectedness principle.
In the next illustration I have copied across the large triangular pendulum and tilted it so that the centre of the three verticals coming out of the ovoid are located on the centre of the left side wheel and aligned with the hatching lines The two weights identified with red circles fit precisely on the rope, showing the 30 degree lift. The blue lines demonstrate the position if we ignore red circled weights, which I think shows that they shouldn’t be ignored.
The 30 degrees indicates the 30 degrees the weight must be lifted. As was usual with Bessler’s clues, he provides confirmation that the interpretation is correct, by including an additional clue. So the 72 degree angle in the upper right of the triangular pendulum suggests the presence of a pentagram and the top bar on it, once rotated, aligns with the extension of the pentagram from the left drawing. In confirmation that both drawing should be taken together, using all the numbers used to label the parts, 1 – 10 total 55. 55 is the number that Bessler uses everywhere to point to his five mechanisms, via the pentagram.
JC
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