Can You Solve It? That Overlooked Dutch Invention That Forged the Contemporary World
One can find many candidates for the title of “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.
As per a new book, though, that honor belongs to the mechanised sawmill invented through Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before automated cutting, constructing a modest trading ship required approximately ten lumberjacks laboring for three months,” writes the author. “With wind-powered lumber mills, the same amount of processed timber might be manufactured within a week.”
Owing to their speedy automated saw, that turned timber into planks with almost no human effort, the Dutch could build vessels faster than anyone else, which sparked one hundred years of Dutch naval, financial and cultural supremacy across the continent and the globe.
The Original True Industrial Device
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends Dávila, was “humanity’s first authentic factory apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. One component transformed its rotary movement to up-and-down motion for the saw. Another component transformed the spinning movement into a sideway’s motion advancing the log toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log ahead one precise increment each cycle.
“Every component seemed modest on its own. The Dutchman’s brilliance lay in how to combine these parts in order that they operated within a precisely synchronized order, sawing with each downward stroke and moving on every upward motion. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of fundamental components.”
A fact that leads us to the current puzzle. I’d like you to reimagine a key the fundamental concepts behind this historic invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a mechanism that turns circular motion to vertical action. You have these items exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “sleeve”, which is a tube or housing through which one of the rods will fit snugly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the parts do not collapse.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, please propose (less celebrated) candidates as the planet’s most impactful creation.
