Are You Able to Crack This? That Overlooked Dutch Creation Which Shaped our Modern World
There are many contenders for the title of “world’s greatest innovation.” The wheel. The movable type. The combustion motor.
As per a new book, however, that honor belongs to the automated timber mill conceived through Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Before mechanised cutting, building a simple trading ship necessitated approximately ten lumberjacks working for three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered lumber mills, an identical amount of cut lumber might be produced within seven days.”
Thanks to this rapid mechanical cutter, which turned logs to planks using almost no human effort, Dutch builders were able to construct ships more quickly than any other nation, an advantage that unleashed a century of Dutch naval, economic as well as cultural supremacy in the continent and the world.
The Original True Industrial Machine
Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues the writer, represented “humanity’s initial authentic industrial machine.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component transformed the circular movement into vertical action to power the cutting blade. Another component changed the spinning movement into a sideway’s movement advancing the timber to the cutter. A geared mechanism shifted the wood forward a measured step each cycle.
“Each element seemed modest by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to combine these parts so the machine acted within a perfectly controlled order, cutting with each descending stroke and advancing with each return stroke. It was a remarkably intelligent use of fundamental components.”
Which leads us up to today’s challenge. I’d like you to reinvent one of the fundamental ideas behind Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a machine that turns circular motion to vertical motion. Your available these components exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve into which a single the bars can slide snugly. (Assume you can mount components on a base, so that the parts do not fall down.)
The solution returns at 5pm UK featuring the solution.
In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, feel free to suggest (non obvious) candidates as the world’s most impactful creation.
