Can You Crack This? That Forgotten Dutch Invention Which Forged the Contemporary Globe
There are numerous contenders for the title of “planet’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
As per a new book, though, that honor should go to a mechanised sawmill invented through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Prior to mechanised cutting, constructing a modest merchant vessel necessitated around 10 lumberjacks working over three months,” writes the author. “With wind-powered lumber mills, the same quantity of processed timber might be manufactured within seven days.”
Owing to this speedy automated saw, that turned logs into boards with virtually no manual labor, the Dutch were able to construct ships more quickly than any other nation, which unleashed one hundred years of Netherlands naval, economic and cultural dominance in Europe and the globe.
The Original True Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues the writer, represented “humanity’s first true factory apparatus.” A windmill turned a gear. A single part converted its circular motion to up-and-down motion to power the cutting blade. Another component changed that same spinning movement into a lateral motion advancing the timber to the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log ahead a measured step per cycle.
“Each element seemed simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s brilliance lay in how to integrate these parts in order that they acted within a precisely synchronized order, cutting on every downward stroke while moving on every upward stroke. It was an astonishingly intelligent use of fundamental parts.”
A fact that leads us to the current puzzle. I’d like for you to reinvent a key the fundamental concepts behind Corneliszoon’s machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism which converts rotary movement to up-and-down motion. Your available these items only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, that is a cylinder or housing into which one of the rods can slide perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to put things on a base, so that the parts do not fall down.)
I’ll be back later today UK time featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, feel free to suggest (non obvious) contenders as the planet’s most impactful invention.
