Are You Able to Solve It? The Overlooked Netherlands Creation That Forged the Modern World
There are numerous contenders for the designation as “world’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.
According to a recent publication, though, that honor belongs to the mechanised sawmill conceived by Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Prior to automated cutting, constructing a modest merchant vessel necessitated approximately 10 sawyers working for three months,” notes the author. “Using wind-driven sawmills, an identical quantity of processed timber might be manufactured within seven days.”
Owing to their rapid mechanical saw, that converted timber to planks using virtually no manual labor, the Dutch were able to build ships more quickly compared to anyone else, which sparked a century of Dutch maritime, economic as well as artistic dominance across Europe and the world.
The Original True Industrial Machine
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, contends Dávila, was “mankind’s initial true industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a wheel. A single part transformed the rotary movement to up-and-down action for the cutting blade. Another component transformed that same rotary movement into a lateral motion advancing the log to the blade. A ratchet system moved the wood ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Each element was simple by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to integrate these parts so they operated within a precisely synchronized order, sawing on every descending motion and moving on every return stroke. It was a remarkably intelligent application of basic parts.”
Which leads us to the current challenge. I’d like you to reimagine one of the fundamental ideas underpinning Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism that turns circular motion into up-and-down motion. Your available these items only: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or housing through which one of the bars can slide snugly. (Consider that it is possible to put things on a stand, so that the parts don’t fall down.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK time with the solution.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, please propose (less celebrated) candidates as the planet’s most impactful creation.
