Can You Solve It? The Forgotten Dutch Creation That Forged our Contemporary World
There are many contenders to claim the title of “planet’s most significant invention.” The wheel. The movable type. The combustion motor.
As per a new book, though, that title should go to the mechanised timber mill conceived through Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Prior to mechanised sawing, constructing a modest trading ship required approximately 10 sawyers working over 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered sawmills, an identical quantity of cut lumber could be produced in less than seven days.”
Thanks to their speedy automated saw, that converted logs into planks with almost no manual labor, Dutch builders were able to build vessels faster compared to anyone else, which unleashed a century of Netherlands maritime, economic and cultural dominance in Europe and the globe.
The Original True Manufacturing Machine
The inventor's lumber mill, argues the writer, represented “humanity’s first true factory apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component transformed its circular motion to vertical action to power the saw. A separate mechanism transformed the rotary movement into a sideway’s movement advancing the log to the cutter. A geared mechanism shifted the log forward a measured step per cycle.
“Every component was modest on its own. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to combine these parts in order that the machine acted in a perfectly controlled order, sawing with each downward motion while moving with each upward stroke. This constituted an astonishingly clever application of fundamental parts.”
A fact that leads us to today’s puzzle. The task is for you to reimagine a key the fundamental ideas underpinning Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine which converts circular motion into up-and-down action. You have these components only: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or sleeve through which one of the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume you can mount components on a stand, so that the parts do not collapse.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK with the solution.
In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please propose (less celebrated) candidates as the world’s most impactful invention.
