Can You Solve It? That Forgotten Dutch Creation Which Shaped the Contemporary Globe
One can find many candidates for the designation as “world’s most significant invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.
According to a recent publication, however, that honor belongs to a mechanised sawmill conceived through Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Before automated sawing, building a modest merchant vessel necessitated approximately 10 lumberjacks working for 90 days,” notes the author. “With wind-driven sawmills, an identical quantity of cut lumber could be produced within seven days.”
Thanks to their speedy automated saw, that converted logs to planks using almost no human effort, the Dutch could construct ships faster than any other nation, which sparked a century of Dutch naval, financial and cultural supremacy in Europe and the world.
The Original True Industrial Device
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues Dávila, represented “humanity’s initial true industrial machine.” A wind turbine turned a gear. A single part transformed its circular movement into vertical motion to power the saw. Another component changed the rotary movement into a sideway’s movement feeding the timber toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log forward a measured step per cycle.
“Each element was simple by itself. The Dutchman’s genius was to combine them in order that the machine operated within a perfectly controlled sequence, cutting on every downward stroke and moving on every return motion. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of basic components.”
A fact that leads us to today’s puzzle. The task is for you to reimagine a key the basic ideas behind Corneliszoon’s machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine which converts circular motion into vertical motion. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two bars. A “sleeve”, that is a tube or housing through which one of the bars will fit perfectly. (Consider that you can mount components on a base, so that the components don’t fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, feel free to propose (non obvious) candidates as the planet’s most impactful invention.
