Can You Solve It? That Forgotten Netherlands Creation That Forged the Modern Globe
There are many candidates to claim the designation as “world’s most significant invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
According to a new book, however, that honor should go to the automated timber mill invented by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Before mechanised cutting, constructing a modest merchant vessel necessitated approximately 10 lumberjacks laboring for three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered lumber mills, the same quantity of processed timber could be manufactured within a week.”
Thanks to this speedy mechanical cutter, which turned logs into boards with almost no human effort, the Dutch were able to build ships more quickly than any other nation, which unleashed a century of Dutch maritime, financial and cultural dominance across the continent and the globe.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues Dávila, represented “mankind’s first true factory apparatus.” A windmill turned a gear. A single part converted its circular motion to vertical action to power the saw. Another component transformed the spinning movement into a lateral motion feeding the log to the blade. A ratchet system moved the wood forward one precise increment per stroke.
“Each element was simple on its own. The Dutchman’s genius lay in how to integrate them in order that the machine acted in a perfectly controlled order, sawing with each descending motion while moving on every upward stroke. This constituted an astonishingly clever application of fundamental components.”
Which brings us to the current challenge. I’d like you to reimagine one of the fundamental ideas behind Corneliszoon’s machine.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a machine that turns rotary motion to vertical action. Your available these components exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or housing into which one of the rods can slide snugly. (Consider that you can mount components on a base, so the parts do not fall down.)
I’ll be back later today UK featuring the solution.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, please propose (non obvious) candidates as the world’s greatest invention.
