Are You Able to Crack It? That Forgotten Netherlands Invention Which Forged the Modern Globe
One can find numerous candidates to claim the title of “world’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a new book, though, that honor should go to the mechanised sawmill conceived through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Prior to mechanised sawing, building a modest merchant vessel required around ten lumberjacks working over 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered lumber mills, the same amount of processed timber might be produced within seven days.”
Thanks to their rapid automated cutter, that converted logs to boards with almost no human effort, the Dutch were able to construct ships faster than any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch naval, economic as well as artistic dominance across Europe and the globe.
The Original Genuine Industrial Machine
The inventor's lumber mill, contends Dávila, represented “humanity’s initial true industrial machine.” A wind turbine turned a gear. A single part converted its circular motion into vertical motion to power the cutting blade. Another component changed the rotary movement into a lateral movement advancing the log to the cutter. A geared mechanism shifted the wood ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Every component seemed modest on its own. The Dutchman’s genius was to integrate these parts so they operated within a precisely synchronized order, sawing with each downward motion and advancing on every return motion. This constituted an astonishingly clever use of fundamental components.”
A fact that leads us up to today’s puzzle. The task is for you to reimagine a key the fundamental ideas underpinning this historic machine.
Round and Up
Design a machine that turns circular motion to vertical motion. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, that is a tube or housing through which one of the bars will fit snugly. (Consider that you can mount components on a stand, so the components do not fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK with the solution.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please propose (non obvious) candidates as the planet’s most impactful creation.
