Can You Solve It? That Overlooked Netherlands Invention That Shaped the Modern Globe
There are numerous candidates for the title of “world’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a new book, however, that title should go to the mechanised timber mill conceived through Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Prior to automated sawing, building a modest trading ship necessitated around ten lumberjacks working for 90 days,” notes the author. “Using wind-powered lumber mills, an identical quantity of cut lumber might be manufactured within a week.”
Owing to this rapid mechanical cutter, that turned logs into planks using virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to construct ships faster compared to any other nation, which unleashed a century of Netherlands naval, economic and artistic dominance in Europe and the world.
The Original Genuine Industrial Machine
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends Dávila, was “mankind’s first true industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component converted the circular motion into up-and-down action for the saw. Another component changed that same spinning motion into a sideway’s movement feeding the log toward the blade. A ratchet system moved the log ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Every component seemed modest by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance lay in how to combine these parts in order that they acted in a perfectly controlled order, sawing with each downward motion while advancing on every upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever use of basic parts.”
A fact that leads us to today’s challenge. I’d like for you to reimagine one of the fundamental concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.
Round and Up
Design a machine which converts circular motion to up-and-down action. You have these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve through which a single the bars will fit perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a base, so the components do not fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to suggest (less celebrated) candidates for the world’s most impactful creation.
