Can You Solve This? The Overlooked Dutch Creation That Forged the Modern World
There are numerous candidates to claim the title of “world’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.
According to a recent publication, however, that honor should go to the mechanised timber mill conceived by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before mechanised cutting, building a modest trading ship required around ten lumberjacks working over 90 days,” writes the author. “With wind-powered sawmills, an identical quantity of cut lumber could be manufactured in less than a week.”
Thanks to their speedy automated saw, that turned timber to planks with virtually no manual labor, the Dutch could construct vessels more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch maritime, economic as well as cultural dominance in Europe and the world.
The Original True Manufacturing Machine
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues the writer, represented “mankind’s first true industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a wheel. A single part converted the circular motion into vertical action to power the cutting blade. A separate mechanism changed the spinning motion into a lateral movement advancing the timber to the blade. A geared mechanism moved the wood ahead one precise increment each stroke.
“Every component seemed modest on its own. Corneliszoon’s brilliance was to integrate these parts in order that they acted in a perfectly controlled order, sawing with each downward motion while advancing on every return motion. It was an astonishingly clever application of basic components.”
A fact that leads us to the current puzzle. I’d like you to reinvent a key the fundamental concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a mechanism which converts rotary motion to vertical action. You have these components only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or sleeve through which a single the bars can slide perfectly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a base, so that the parts do not fall down.)
I’ll be back later today UK time featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, please suggest (non obvious) candidates for the planet’s most impactful creation.
