The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1899-09-12
X-RAYED A MOTOR FRAUD
A PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINE
THAT WENT BY CLOCKWORK.
Investors Sent 1t to the Patent Onice After
Aldrich Got Into Prison-Patent Onicc
Wouldn't Bother with It-scieniiiic
American Tries SI;iagraph.

In revealing the unseen works"
which made perpetual motion ma
chine mote" the Scientific American
has found q new use for the X-ray.
There came to the office of the paper
not long ago q box containing a mys-
terious machine. Along with it came
a letter from a man in Bradford,
Penn, who said that the machine was
the invention of J. VI. Aldrich, now
serving a sentence in Auburn Prison
for obtaining money by fraud Al
drich drifted into Bradford some time
ago aud succeeded in interesting sew
eral men in his perpetual motion con
trivance.
After they had seen it mote" and
had scrutinized its exterior, they adj
vanced money to the inventor to en-
able him to perfect his machine and
get it through the Patent Office. But,
as weeks went by, and Aldrich alb
sorbed the money advanced him with
out any apparent result, the pro-
motors became suspicious. At last
Aldrich was locked up in the county
| Jail, only to be released when the pro-
motors concluded that they lacked
evidence against him. Later he was
sent to prison in New York State.
Aldrich's motor, like Keely's. is in
geniously contrived to dupe anybody
who thinks something can be made
from nothing. Most perpetual motion
machines don't go, but Keely's did
and SO does Aldrich's. Keely's motor
was big machine, immovable, and it
was n simple task for it's constructor
TO connect it by unseen tubes with
| the source of power under the floor.
| but this motor from Bradford can be
carried about in a hat box, and it's
maker showed unusual mechanical
skill in so concealing the works"
that 1t puzzled the experts who ex-
amlned 1t. 1t Is one of the most
cleyerly contrived frauds that ever
drew money from the pockets of the
| guile!ess.
So simple is the exterior construc.
ton of this motor that it seemed all
tho more wonderful to Aldrich's dupes.
First, square, thick, WOO len base,
seemingly solid piece; on this block
two posts, supporting a horizontal
shaft; on the shaft, at its middle, a
large fly wheel. Then, on the shaft.
on either side of the fly wheel, straight
arms at right angles to each other; at
the ends of the arms, metal weights
on swinging levers-the movers of the
motor. Many an inventor, chasing
the will-o'-thc-wisp of perpetual
motion, has sought TO make a wheel
turn by gravity by placing about it's
circumference weights on hinged pro
lecting arms, and having these arms
throw the weights away from the
wheel on one side and draw them in
on the other. But, despite the most
ingenious devices OF those who have
sought to disproYe the laws of the con-
servation of energy, all these weighted
wheels have refused to go.
This machine from Bradford, on the
face OF it, is an honest weighted wheel
motor, but unlike all other motors of
its kind, it goes. With no uncertain
motion does it go, either; it is so full
OF energy that ii has to have GOV
ernor and brake to keep it from run
ming away with itself. 4 brake on n
perpetual motion machine is impress
sive. The weighted levers of this
machine are so attached to tho trans
verse arms that in the downward half
OF each revolution they fall outward
and forward, thus lengthening the
radius of the revolution. On the up
ward half of the revolution the levers
close up and the weights describe an
arc of rotation with shortened radius.
As each transverse arm with its jointed
lever and weight rises little past the
horizontal 1t slides forward and down
ward, thus throwing the weight on
the opposite end still further from the
centre and increasing the turning
moment on that side, mt the same
time decreasing the moment on the
upward half of the revolution. The
transverse arms are kept in place by
means of small rocking levers which
extend from steadying arms attached
to the shaft.
After Aldrich had been sent TO prig.
on some of his dupes we're still ready
TO believe that there was sometime
in his motor. They couldn't make it
go, however; something was wrong
somewhere. so they sent it TO tho
Patent Office. The Patent ONCE is
overrun with perpetual motion ma
chimes. and the examiners seldom stop
to look at them. They haven't time.
The motor was shipped back 20 Brad
ford Then IL was sent TO the Scientific
American Office Tho Bradford PEG.
pie wanted it taken apart and looked
into; they didn't want TO take IL apart
themselves, because they didn't know
what Internal coutriyouces might be
sccretcd i'm IT, The examiners here
looked 1t over very carefully and failed
to find any concealed devices. They
said 10 was tho cleycrest-l0Okiug mo
tor they had ever seen. Rather than
destroy tho machine, they took nm Y.
ray Photograph of the iuuoceut-lo5k-
ing wooden base.
The mystery vanished when the X
ray revealed the silhouette Of n com.
mon, everyday clockwork, with it's
big steel spring extended. The gears
were connected with the main shait
OF the motor by means Ola small rod
! extending through ono OF tho posts.
two heycl wheels i'm the top of thopost
serving 20 transmit tho motion of the
| clockwork TO the revolving shaft and
| wDQhts No wonder governor and
O brake were needed Tho problem
Of concooliug the joint, after the
"works' had been inserted in the
hollowcd-out base OF the machine.
was solved by forming bowel
| Joint and making n coiucident with