Are You Able to Solve This? The Overlooked Netherlands Creation That Forged the Contemporary World
There are many contenders to claim the title of “world’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The printing press. The combustion motor.
As per a recent publication, though, that honor should go to a mechanised timber mill conceived by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Prior to automated sawing, constructing a simple merchant vessel necessitated approximately 10 sawyers laboring over 90 days,” notes the author. “Using wind-powered sawmills, an identical amount of cut lumber might be produced within seven days.”
Owing to their speedy mechanical saw, that turned timber to boards with almost no manual labor, Dutch builders could build ships more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Dutch naval, economic and cultural supremacy in Europe and the globe.
The First Genuine Industrial Device
The inventor's sawmill, contends the writer, was “mankind’s initial authentic industrial apparatus.” A windmill turned a gear. A single part transformed the rotary movement into vertical action to power the cutting blade. Another component transformed that same spinning movement into a lateral motion advancing the log toward the blade. A geared mechanism moved the wood forward a measured step each cycle.
“Every component was simple by itself. Corneliszoon’s brilliance lay in how to integrate these parts so the machine operated within a perfectly controlled order, sawing on every descending stroke while moving on every upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever application of fundamental parts.”
Which brings us to today’s puzzle. The task is you to reinvent one of the fundamental ideas behind this historic invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine that turns circular motion to vertical action. You have these components exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, which is a tube or housing through which one of the bars can slide perfectly. (Assume you can mount components on a stand, so the components do not fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK featuring the solution.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, feel free to suggest (less celebrated) contenders for the world’s greatest creation.
