Are You Able to Solve It? That Overlooked Dutch Invention Which Forged our Contemporary World
There are numerous candidates to claim the designation as “world’s most significant innovation.” The wheel. The printing press. The combustion motor.
According to a new book, however, that title belongs to a mechanised timber mill invented by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before mechanised cutting, building a simple merchant vessel necessitated approximately ten sawyers working over 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered lumber mills, the same amount of cut lumber might be manufactured in less than a week.”
Thanks to their rapid automated saw, that converted logs into planks with virtually no manual labor, Dutch builders were able to construct ships faster compared to anyone else, which unleashed a century of Dutch maritime, economic and cultural supremacy across Europe and the world.
The First True Industrial Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues Dávila, was “mankind’s initial true industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component transformed the rotary motion to vertical motion to power the saw. Another component changed the spinning movement into a sideway’s movement advancing the timber to the cutter. A ratchet system moved the wood forward a measured step per stroke.
“Every component seemed simple by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to integrate these parts so the machine acted within a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing on every descending motion and moving on every upward motion. It was a remarkably clever application of fundamental components.”
A fact that leads us to the current puzzle. I’d like for you to reinvent one of the basic ideas underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a machine that turns rotary motion into vertical motion. Your available these items only: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two rods. A “sleeve”, that is a cylinder or sleeve through which a single the bars will fit snugly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a base, so that the components don’t fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time featuring the solution.
In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please suggest (non obvious) candidates as the world’s most impactful creation.
