Can You Crack It? The Overlooked Netherlands Invention That Shaped our Contemporary 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 title should go to a automated timber mill conceived by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.
“Prior to automated sawing, constructing a modest merchant vessel required around ten lumberjacks working for 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-driven sawmills, the same amount of processed timber could be produced within seven days.”
Thanks to this speedy automated saw, that turned timber to boards using virtually no manual labor, the Dutch could construct ships more quickly compared to anyone else, which unleashed a century of Dutch naval, economic as well as artistic dominance in the continent and the globe.
The First Genuine Industrial Device
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends the writer, represented “mankind’s first authentic factory apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. A single part converted the rotary motion to vertical motion for the saw. Another component transformed the spinning movement into a lateral motion feeding the log to the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the log ahead a measured step each cycle.
“Every component seemed simple by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to integrate them in order that the machine operated in a precisely synchronized order, cutting on every descending motion and moving with each upward stroke. This constituted an astonishingly clever use of fundamental parts.”
A fact that brings us to the current challenge. The task is you to reimagine a key the fundamental ideas behind this historic machine.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a machine that turns circular movement into vertical motion. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or housing into which one of the bars can slide perfectly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the parts do not fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time with the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to suggest (less celebrated) contenders for the planet’s greatest invention.
