Are You Able to Solve This? The Overlooked Netherlands Invention Which Forged our Contemporary Globe
One can find numerous contenders for the title of “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a new book, though, that honor should go to the mechanised sawmill invented through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Prior to automated cutting, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated approximately 10 sawyers laboring for 90 days,” notes the author. “Using wind-driven sawmills, the same amount of cut lumber might be produced in less than a week.”
Owing to this speedy mechanical saw, that turned timber into planks with virtually no human effort, the Dutch were able to construct vessels more quickly than anyone else, which unleashed a century of Netherlands naval, economic as well as artistic supremacy across Europe and the globe.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Machine
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, contends Dávila, was “humanity’s initial authentic factory apparatus.” A windmill turned a wheel. One component transformed its circular movement into vertical motion to power the saw. Another component transformed the spinning movement into a sideway’s movement advancing the log to the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the log forward one precise increment per stroke.
“Every component seemed modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s brilliance lay in how to combine these parts in order that the machine operated in a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing with each descending motion and advancing on every upward motion. It was an astonishingly intelligent application of fundamental parts.”
Which brings us up to the current challenge. I’d like for you to reimagine a key the basic concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.
Round and Up
Design a mechanism that turns circular movement into vertical motion. Your available these components only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two bars. A “sleeve”, that is a tube or sleeve through which one of the bars will fit perfectly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the parts don’t collapse.)
I’ll be back later today UK time with the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, please propose (less celebrated) candidates for the world’s most impactful creation.
