Are You Able to Solve It? That Forgotten Netherlands Creation That Forged the Contemporary World
There are numerous contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s most significant invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
As per a new book, though, that title belongs to a automated sawmill invented by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before automated sawing, constructing a simple merchant vessel required around ten lumberjacks working for 90 days,” writes the author. “Using wind-powered sawmills, the same quantity of processed timber could be manufactured within a week.”
Thanks to their rapid mechanical cutter, which converted timber to boards with almost no manual labor, the Dutch could build vessels more quickly than any other nation, an advantage that unleashed a century of Netherlands naval, economic and cultural supremacy in the continent and the world.
The Original Genuine Industrial Machine
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, contends Dávila, was “mankind’s initial true factory machine.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. A single part converted its rotary motion to vertical action for the cutting blade. A separate mechanism transformed that same rotary motion into a lateral motion advancing the timber to the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the wood forward one precise increment each stroke.
“Every component seemed simple on its own. The Dutchman’s brilliance lay in how to integrate them in order that the machine acted in a perfectly controlled order, cutting with each downward stroke while moving with each upward motion. It was a remarkably intelligent use of fundamental components.”
A fact that leads us up to the current puzzle. I’d like for you to reinvent one of the fundamental concepts underpinning this historic invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a machine that turns rotary movement into vertical action. Your available these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, that is a tube or sleeve through which a single the bars will fit perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to put things on a base, so the components don’t collapse.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK with the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, please propose (non obvious) candidates for the world’s most impactful invention.
