Can You Crack This? The Forgotten Netherlands Creation Which Forged the Modern World
One can find many contenders for the designation as “planet’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.
According to a recent publication, however, that title belongs to the automated sawmill conceived through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before automated sawing, building a simple trading ship required approximately 10 lumberjacks working for three months,” writes the author. “Using wind-driven lumber mills, the same quantity of cut lumber could be produced in less than seven days.”
Owing to this rapid automated cutter, which turned logs into planks with virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to construct ships more quickly than anyone else, an advantage that sparked a century of Netherlands naval, economic and artistic supremacy in Europe and the world.
The First True Industrial Device
The inventor's sawmill, argues Dávila, was “humanity’s initial authentic factory machine.” A wind turbine turned a wheel. One component transformed its circular motion to up-and-down motion for the saw. A separate mechanism transformed the rotary movement into a lateral motion feeding the log to the cutter. A ratchet system shifted the wood ahead one precise increment per stroke.
“Each element was simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate them in order that they operated within a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing on every descending motion and advancing on every return motion. It was an astonishingly clever application of fundamental components.”
Which brings us up to today’s puzzle. I’d like you to reimagine one of the basic ideas underpinning this historic invention.
Round and Up
Construct a machine that turns circular movement into up-and-down motion. You have these items only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, that is a cylinder or housing through which one of the bars can slide perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a base, so the parts don’t fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK time featuring the solution.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, please suggest (less celebrated) contenders for the world’s most impactful invention.
