Can You Solve This? The Forgotten Netherlands Creation Which Forged our Contemporary Globe
There are many contenders for the title of “world’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a new book, though, that title belongs to a automated timber mill invented through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Prior to automated cutting, constructing a modest merchant vessel necessitated around ten sawyers laboring for 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered sawmills, an identical amount of processed timber could be manufactured within seven days.”
Owing to this rapid automated saw, that converted logs to planks using virtually no manual labor, the Dutch were able to build ships more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that unleashed a century of Netherlands maritime, financial as well as cultural supremacy across Europe and the world.
The First Genuine Industrial Machine
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends the writer, represented “humanity’s initial true factory apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. One component transformed the rotary motion into vertical action for the saw. A separate mechanism transformed that same spinning motion into a sideway’s movement advancing the log to the cutter. A ratchet system shifted the wood forward one precise increment each stroke.
“Each element seemed simple by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate them so they operated in a perfectly controlled order, sawing with each downward motion while moving on every return stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever use of basic parts.”
A fact that brings us up to today’s puzzle. I’d like for you to reinvent a key the fundamental concepts behind Corneliszoon’s invention.
Round and Up
Construct a machine that turns circular movement to vertical action. Your available these components only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or housing through which a single the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a base, so the components do not collapse.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time with the solution.
In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Instead, please suggest (non obvious) contenders as the world’s greatest creation.
