Can You Solve This? The Forgotten Netherlands Invention That Shaped our Modern World
There are many contenders to claim the designation as “world’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a recent publication, however, that title belongs to a mechanised timber mill invented by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Prior to automated cutting, constructing a simple merchant vessel necessitated around ten lumberjacks laboring over 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered sawmills, an identical quantity of processed timber could be manufactured in less than seven days.”
Owing to this speedy automated saw, that turned timber to boards with almost no manual labor, Dutch builders were able to construct vessels faster than anyone else, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Netherlands maritime, economic and cultural dominance in the continent and the world.
The Original True Industrial Machine
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues the writer, was “mankind’s first true factory apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. One component transformed its rotary movement into vertical motion for the cutting blade. A separate mechanism changed that same spinning movement into a sideway’s motion advancing the timber toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log forward one precise increment each cycle.
“Each element seemed simple on its own. The Dutchman’s genius was to combine them in order that the machine operated within a precisely synchronized order, sawing on every descending motion while advancing with each upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever use of basic parts.”
Which leads us to today’s challenge. I’d like you to reimagine a key the fundamental ideas underpinning Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a mechanism that turns circular movement into up-and-down motion. Your available these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two bars. A “guide”, that is a tube or housing into which a single the bars will fit perfectly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the parts don’t collapse.)
The solution returns later today UK featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to propose (less celebrated) candidates as the planet’s greatest invention.