Are You Able to Solve It? That Overlooked Netherlands Invention That Shaped the Contemporary Globe
There are many contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
According to a new book, though, that title belongs to a mechanised sawmill conceived through Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Prior to automated sawing, constructing a simple trading ship necessitated around ten sawyers laboring for three months,” writes the author. “With wind-powered sawmills, the same quantity of cut lumber could be produced within seven days.”
Thanks to this rapid mechanical cutter, that converted timber to boards using almost no manual labor, Dutch builders could build vessels faster compared to any other nation, an advantage that sparked one hundred years of Dutch naval, economic and artistic dominance across the continent and the world.
The Original Genuine Industrial Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, contends the writer, represented “mankind’s initial authentic factory machine.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. One component transformed its circular motion to up-and-down motion for the saw. A separate mechanism changed the spinning movement into a sideway’s movement advancing the timber toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log ahead one precise increment per cycle.
“Each element seemed simple on its own. The Dutchman’s brilliance lay in how to integrate these parts in order that they acted in a precisely synchronized sequence, sawing on every descending stroke while advancing with each upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever use of fundamental components.”
Which brings us to the current challenge. I’d like you to reimagine one of the basic concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.
Round and Up
Design a mechanism that turns circular motion into vertical action. Your available these items exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or housing through which one of the bars can slide perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to put things on a base, so the components do not fall down.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK time featuring the answer.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, feel free to suggest (non obvious) candidates for the world’s most impactful invention.
