Can You Solve It? The Forgotten Dutch Invention Which Forged the Modern Globe
There are numerous contenders to claim the designation as “world’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The movable type. The steam engine.
According to a new book, however, that title belongs to a automated sawmill invented by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Before automated cutting, constructing a modest merchant vessel required approximately ten lumberjacks laboring for 90 days,” writes the author. “With wind-driven lumber mills, an identical quantity of processed timber could be produced within seven days.”
Thanks to their speedy mechanical cutter, that turned timber into boards with virtually no human effort, the Dutch could build ships more quickly than any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Netherlands maritime, financial as well as cultural supremacy across Europe and the world.
The First Genuine Manufacturing Machine
The inventor's lumber mill, argues the writer, represented “mankind’s initial true industrial apparatus.” A windmill rotated a gear. One component transformed the circular movement to vertical action for the cutting blade. A separate mechanism changed that same rotary movement into a lateral movement feeding the log to the cutter. A geared mechanism shifted the log forward one precise increment each cycle.
“Every component was simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s brilliance lay in how to combine them so they acted within a precisely synchronized sequence, cutting on every downward stroke while moving with each upward motion. It was an astonishingly clever use of fundamental components.”
Which brings us to the current challenge. I’d like for you to reimagine one of the basic concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.
Round and Up
Construct a machine that turns circular movement into vertical action. Your available these components only: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “sleeve”, that is a cylinder or sleeve into which one of the rods will fit perfectly. (Assume it is possible to put things on a base, so the parts do not fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK with the answer.
In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Instead, please suggest (non obvious) candidates for the world’s most impactful invention.
