Can You Solve This? That Forgotten Dutch Creation Which Forged the Contemporary World
One can find numerous contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s most significant invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
According to a new book, however, that honor belongs to the mechanised timber mill invented by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Prior to mechanised sawing, building a modest trading ship required around ten sawyers working over 90 days,” writes the author. “With wind-driven sawmills, an identical amount of cut lumber might be manufactured in less than seven days.”
Thanks to their speedy mechanical saw, which turned timber into planks using virtually no manual labor, the Dutch could construct vessels more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked one hundred years of Dutch maritime, financial as well as cultural dominance across Europe and the globe.
The First Genuine Manufacturing Device
The inventor's lumber mill, contends Dávila, represented “mankind’s initial true industrial machine.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component transformed its rotary movement to vertical motion to power the saw. Another component transformed that same rotary movement into a sideway’s motion advancing the log to the cutter. A geared mechanism shifted the wood ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Each element seemed simple by itself. The Dutchman’s genius lay in how to integrate these parts in order that the machine acted in a precisely synchronized sequence, sawing on every descending stroke and advancing with each upward stroke. It was a remarkably intelligent use of basic components.”
Which brings us up to the current challenge. I’d like for you to reimagine a key the basic concepts underpinning this historic machine.
Round and Up
Construct a machine which converts rotary movement to up-and-down action. Your available these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “sleeve”, that is a tube or sleeve into which one of the bars can slide perfectly. (Consider that you can put things on a stand, so that the parts do not fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK featuring the answer.
In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please suggest (less celebrated) candidates for the world’s greatest invention.