Can You Crack It? That Forgotten Dutch Invention Which Shaped the Modern Globe
There are numerous candidates for the title of “world’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
As per a new book, however, that honor belongs to a mechanised timber mill conceived through Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Before mechanised sawing, building a modest merchant vessel necessitated around ten lumberjacks laboring over 90 days,” writes the author. “Using wind-powered sawmills, an identical quantity of cut lumber could be produced within seven days.”
Owing to their speedy automated saw, which converted timber to planks with virtually no manual labor, the Dutch were able to build vessels faster than anyone else, an advantage that sparked one hundred years of Dutch maritime, economic as well as cultural dominance across Europe and the world.
The Original Genuine Industrial Device
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues the writer, represented “mankind’s initial true factory apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. A single part transformed the rotary motion into vertical motion to power the cutting blade. Another component transformed the rotary movement into a lateral movement advancing the timber toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log ahead one precise increment per stroke.
“Every component was simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate them so they operated in a precisely synchronized order, cutting with each descending stroke while advancing on every upward motion. It was a remarkably intelligent use of basic parts.”
Which brings us up to today’s puzzle. I’d like for you to reinvent one of the fundamental concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.
Round and Up
Construct a machine that turns circular movement into vertical action. You have these components exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a tube or housing through which one of the bars can slide perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a base, so the parts don’t collapse.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK with the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to suggest (less celebrated) candidates for the world’s most impactful invention.
