Are You Able to Solve This? That Overlooked Dutch Invention That Shaped the Contemporary World
There are many contenders for the designation as “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
As per a recent publication, however, that honor should go to the mechanised sawmill invented through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Prior to automated cutting, constructing a simple trading ship required approximately ten sawyers laboring for 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered sawmills, the same amount of cut lumber might be produced in less than a week.”
Thanks to their rapid automated saw, that converted timber into planks with virtually no manual labor, the Dutch could build vessels faster compared to anyone else, which sparked a century of Netherlands naval, financial as well as artistic dominance in Europe and the world.
The First True Industrial Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues the writer, represented “mankind’s first authentic industrial machine.” A windmill rotated a gear. One component converted the circular motion into vertical motion for the saw. A separate mechanism changed the rotary movement into a sideway’s motion feeding the log to the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the log ahead one precise increment per cycle.
“Each element seemed modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s brilliance was to combine these parts so the machine acted in a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing with each descending motion and moving on every return motion. It was a remarkably intelligent application of basic components.”
A fact that leads us to today’s challenge. I’d like for you to reinvent one of the fundamental ideas behind this historic invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a machine that turns circular motion into vertical motion. You have these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or housing through which a single the rods can slide perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the components don’t fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK time with the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to suggest (non obvious) contenders for the planet’s most impactful creation.
