Can You Solve It? That Forgotten Dutch Invention Which Shaped our Contemporary Globe
There are many contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a new book, though, that title belongs to the automated timber mill invented through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Before automated cutting, building a modest merchant vessel necessitated around 10 sawyers working over 90 days,” writes the author. “With wind-driven lumber mills, the same amount of processed timber might be manufactured in less than a week.”
Thanks to their rapid automated saw, that turned timber to boards using virtually no human effort, Dutch builders could build vessels more quickly than any other nation, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Netherlands naval, financial as well as artistic dominance across the continent and the globe.
The Original True Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues Dávila, was “humanity’s initial authentic factory machine.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. One component converted the rotary movement to up-and-down action to power the cutting blade. A separate mechanism transformed that same rotary movement into a sideway’s movement feeding the timber to the blade. A ratchet system shifted the log ahead one precise increment each cycle.
“Each element seemed modest by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to integrate them so they acted within a precisely synchronized sequence, sawing with each descending stroke while moving with each upward stroke. This constituted an astonishingly clever application of fundamental parts.”
Which brings us to today’s challenge. I’d like for you to reinvent one of the basic concepts behind this historic machine.
Round and Up
Design a mechanism that turns circular movement into vertical motion. Your available these components exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “sleeve”, that is a tube or housing into which one of the bars can slide perfectly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the parts don’t collapse.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to suggest (less celebrated) contenders as the planet’s most impactful invention.
