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Origin
Perpetual motion has its origin, as an idea, in the Far East. The first known description of a perpetual motion machine originates from the Indian mathematician Bhaskara. He described a wheel with containers full of mercury attached to its perimeter. He theorized that the mercury would be closer at one side than at the other and would would move the wheel with great force. There is no evidence he ever actually tried to build his design.
Overbalanced Wheel
The overbalanced wheel described by the mathematician Bhaskara is found many times throughout the middle ages in different forms. For example, Villard de Honnecourt proposed an overbalanced wheel made with four hammers on one side and three on the other. He suggested the wheel would be in constant motion because there would always be a weight unbalance. Obviously, he never built it or he would have discovered the whole contraption would come to a standstill with one hammer hanging down in the center and three hammers on each side of the wheel.
Recirculation Mills
The Renaissance was a particularly fertile period for the design of perpetual motion machines. One of the most popular designs worked around the idea of closed water circulation. The master builder Francisco di Georgio provided his own variation in the form of a water mill which was operated by a pump engine that was powered by a gear system moved by the falling water.
Magnetic Perpetual Motion Machines
Another type of perpetual motion machine was based around natural magnets. These inventors tried to harness the natural magnetic properties of lodestones to attract a ball and let it roll down a ramp where it would be pulled back again. The only problem with this design is that any magnet powerful enough to attract the ball is too powerful to let it drop.