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Can You Solve It? That Overlooked Netherlands Invention That Forged the Modern Globe
One can find numerous candidates for the designation as “world’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.
As per a recent publication, though, that title belongs to the automated timber mill conceived through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Before mechanised cutting, constructing a modest trading ship required approximately 10 sawyers working over three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-driven sawmills, the same amount of cut lumber might be produced in less than seven days.”
Thanks to their speedy automated cutter, which converted timber into boards using almost no human effort, the Dutch were able to construct vessels more quickly than any other nation, an advantage that unleashed a century of Dutch naval, economic and artistic supremacy in the continent and the globe.
The First True Industrial Device
The inventor's sawmill, contends Dávila, represented “humanity’s first authentic industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component converted its circular motion to up-and-down action for the cutting blade. Another component changed that same rotary movement into a lateral motion feeding the timber toward the cutter. A geared mechanism shifted the wood forward one precise increment per stroke.
“Each element was modest on its own. Corneliszoon’s genius was to combine them so the machine operated in a perfectly controlled order, sawing on every downward motion while advancing with each return stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever use of fundamental components.”
Which brings us to the current puzzle. I’d like for you to reinvent one of the basic concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine that turns circular motion to vertical motion. You have these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or sleeve through which one of the bars can slide snugly. (Consider that you can put things on a base, so that the parts do not collapse.)
The solution returns later today UK with the solution.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, feel free to suggest (non obvious) contenders as the world’s greatest creation.
Daniel Watts
An experienced educator and maker enthusiast passionate about integrating technology into hands-on learning experiences.
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