Can You Solve It? The Forgotten Netherlands Invention That Forged the Modern World
There are many contenders to claim the title of “world’s most significant invention.” The wheel. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a new book, though, that title should go to the automated sawmill invented by Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.
“Before automated sawing, constructing a modest merchant vessel necessitated around ten lumberjacks working for three months,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered sawmills, an identical amount of cut lumber might be produced in less than a week.”
Owing to their rapid mechanical cutter, that turned logs into boards using almost no human effort, Dutch builders could build ships faster than any other nation, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Netherlands maritime, economic and artistic supremacy in Europe and the globe.
The First True Manufacturing Device
The inventor's lumber mill, argues Dávila, was “mankind’s first authentic factory apparatus.” A windmill turned a gear. A single part transformed its circular movement into up-and-down motion to power the cutting blade. Another component transformed the rotary movement into a sideway’s movement feeding the timber toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Each element seemed simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate these parts in order that they acted in a perfectly controlled order, sawing with each descending stroke and advancing on every upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever use of fundamental parts.”
Which brings us to today’s puzzle. The task is you to reimagine a key the fundamental concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine that turns circular movement into vertical motion. Your available these items exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve through which one of the rods will fit perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a stand, so the components don’t fall down.)
I’ll be back later today UK time with the answer.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, please propose (non obvious) contenders for the planet’s greatest creation.
