Are You Able to Solve It? That Forgotten Dutch Invention Which Forged our Modern Globe
There are numerous contenders to claim the title of “world’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
According to a new book, though, that honor should go to the automated timber mill invented by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Prior to automated sawing, building a modest trading ship required approximately 10 lumberjacks working over 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered lumber mills, an identical quantity of cut lumber could be manufactured in less than seven days.”
Owing to their speedy automated cutter, which converted timber into planks using virtually no human effort, the Dutch were able to construct ships more quickly than any other nation, which sparked a century of Dutch naval, financial and artistic dominance across the continent and the world.
The Original Genuine Industrial Machine
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends the writer, represented “humanity’s first true factory machine.” A wind turbine turned a wheel. One component transformed the circular movement to vertical motion to power the saw. Another component transformed that same spinning movement into a sideway’s motion advancing the timber to the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Each element seemed simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s brilliance was to combine them so the machine acted in a precisely synchronized order, sawing with each downward motion and moving on every return motion. It was an astonishingly clever application of basic parts.”
A fact that brings us up to today’s challenge. I’d like you to reinvent one of the basic concepts behind Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a mechanism which converts rotary motion to vertical motion. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two bars. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve through which a single the rods will fit perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a base, so the parts don’t collapse.)
The solution returns later today UK with the answer.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, please suggest (less celebrated) contenders as the planet’s most impactful invention.
