Can You Solve It? That Overlooked Netherlands Invention Which Shaped the Contemporary World
There are numerous contenders for the designation as “world’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The movable type. The steam engine.
As per a new book, though, that honor should go to a mechanised sawmill invented by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.
“Prior to automated cutting, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated approximately 10 lumberjacks working over 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered sawmills, the same amount of processed timber could be produced in less than seven days.”
Thanks to their speedy automated saw, which converted logs to boards with virtually no manual labor, the Dutch were able to construct vessels more quickly than any other nation, which unleashed a century of Netherlands maritime, economic as well as artistic supremacy in the continent and the globe.
The First True Manufacturing Machine
The inventor's sawmill, contends Dávila, was “humanity’s first authentic factory machine.” A windmill rotated a gear. A single part converted the circular motion to up-and-down action to power the saw. A separate mechanism changed the spinning motion into a sideway’s motion advancing the log toward the blade. A ratchet system moved the log ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Each element was simple by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius lay in how to integrate them so they acted within a perfectly controlled sequence, cutting with each descending motion and advancing with each return motion. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of basic components.”
A fact that brings us to today’s challenge. I’d like you to reimagine one of the fundamental ideas behind this historic machine.
Round and Up
Design a mechanism that turns rotary movement into vertical motion. Your available these components exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, that is a tube or housing into which one of the rods will fit snugly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the components don’t fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK time with the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please suggest (non obvious) contenders as the world’s greatest invention.
