Mr Olds' remarkable elevator

Olds Engineering, a traditional workshop and foundry, sits in Maryborough, Australia. It's not the sort of place you'd expect to find a new industrial invention in the 21st century: and yet the Olds Elevator, patented by Peter Olds, is just that.
More about Olds Engineering: www.olds.com.au/
and the Olds Elevator: www.oldselevat...
Edited by Michelle Martin / @onthecrux
I'm at tomscott.com
on Twitter at / tomscott
on Facebook at / tomscott
and on Instagram as tomscottgo

[@TomScottGo]

I had absolutely no idea what to title this video. I think this is one of the most interesting stories that's been on this channel, but trying to sum it up in a few words, for a medium that needs must-click titles, was really difficult!

[@gacelperfinian]

After New Zealand, now Australia. Nice to hear what's under down there! Update: After watching this, I remembered Tom's video about the Basel reaction boats and the question on the end: what things we (as a humanity) missed?

[@oliverhoare6779]

I like vaguely Roald Dahl-esque titles

[@gabbagandalfjpr]

How about 'SPINNING SPIRAL GONE WRONG!!!'?

[@Eutrofication]

The inventor some call Archimedes II

[@MisterAppleEsq]

The Innovative Lifting Device That was Unknown for a Century

[@KaizerRemix]

"The best inventions are the kind where anyone could have thought of it but didn't" - Rex Garrod

[@nrdesign1991]

Thumbs up for Rex Garrod!

[@dorusie5]

I couldn't have thought of this though, if the guy had shown me his sketch I would've said it either wouldn't work, be extremely inefficient, or wear out the tube really quickly.

[@dexter9313]

That's the definition of genius !

[@speedy01247]

It's so annoying too, like a screw and tube where the tube is rotated rather then the screw, I could have thought of that. (But I didn't and odds are neither did you)

[@speedy01247]

@@dorusie5 next time you think of an idea like that maybe give it a shot (if it isn't to much of a hassle) and maybe you will be the next person to invent a geniusly stupid way of doing something. (Sometimes knowing how things work may actual backfire and harm your creativity, like the guy admitted to not believing it would work only for his son to get him to try it, had his son not said anything it could of never been invented)

[@aaron670]

This really goes to show that the most powerful motivator possible is a sibling telling you your idea will never work.

[@DrRiq]

Hahaa

[@DragonJohn]

I've heard it said that success is 90% spite

[@DoubsGaming]

@@DragonJohn Markiplier in a nutshell and it's great.

[@crystalsheep1434]

Very true

[@markfryer9880]

@@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusket Oh really! Everyone kept doing it the same way as Archimedes by rotating the screw and no one thought to do it the other way around? If they did think of doing it with the outside cylinder rotating instead of the elevating screw then they kept it to themselves.

[@CAl3vara]

Tom, I seriously don't understand how you can, week after week, find some story of an out of the way hidden gem that I had no idea I desperately wanted to know.

[@RyanLynch1]

CAl3vara exactly it's amazing

[@TheEviling]

Having watched all of the Technical Difficoulties episodes. I'm fairly sure Tom has read and keeps reading every article on Wikipedia :)

[@stumbling]

That's what the world is like. :)

[@Andrew110]

@@stumbling and Tom to show us :D

[@TaranVH]

After awhile, the stories come to you ;)

[@SilntObsvr]

"Why didn't anyone think of this before?" is one of the greatest things you can say about a new invention. That a device that could have been made with literally ancient technology (it would make perfect sense to Archimedes, I think) is a significant improvement in today's world is genuinely remarkable. That it could save lives (by reducing flammable dust dispersion) even more so. Good on ya', Peter Olds!

[@viral_suppressor4154]

It is absolutely likely that many inventions just went lost, by means of being obvious and self explanatory at the time they appeared, to the people around them.

[@harstenstahl1367]

@@viral_suppressor4154 a source on that would be interesting, i think you could be reight but the reasoning seems off to me, where did you get this info from would be oportunity for me to learn

[@Terra_Lopez]

​@@harstenstahl1367 I think Viral Suppressor is using the 'put yourself in other people's shoes to make a speculation' technique. It's a good one.

[@StripedJacket]

I’m sure someone thought of it or heck made it before probably didn’t see it as different enough or didn’t have a use for it

[@DjDolHaus86]

I suspect the "why didn't anyone think of this before" question is down to screw conveyors/elevators already existing and already working reasonably well. It's kind of like how you'll make do with a blunt kitchen knife for months before you finally replace it and wonder why you didn't replace it sooner because of how much easier it makes things.

[@clintonevans2226]

It's a crime that as an Australian that lives close to this guy, I had to see this video to learn about him...

[@MrPaddyR]

“It’s different, it’s useful, and if it helps people that’s great!” A set of standards and morals to live by right there! Brilliant video and well done to the inventor!

[@himselfe]

Assuming they don't charge huge licensing fees. If they patented it to protect the concept from being locked down in patent litigation, then great! If they patented it to profit from patent litigation at a cost to technological progress (and potentially lives where this could prevent explosions), not so great. Which it is wasn't made clear in the video.

[@AllUpOns]

@@himselfe Profiting from your invention isn't evil. In fact, it encourages technological progress.

[@himselfe]

@@AllUpOns you might want to read what I said again.

[@RachelShortyRRees]

That's just being an Aussie ;-)

[@ObjectsInMotion]

@@himselfe Patents, in the US at least, only last 20 years. During that time, you can and should litigate any copy cats, those don't help technological progress. If you want to save lives you have to pay for your life-saving equipment like anyone else, infringing on someone else's property while doing it doesn't make you the good guy.

[@emilyblack7342]

When I was a kid, I was always disappointed that all of the “simple machines” have been invented already. The kid inside me is jumping up and down in glee.

[@adamsbja]

Everything is obvious once you know it.

[@krashd]

@@adamsbja "hindsight bias"

[@misterbert9246]

People have always thought that!

[@woutervanr]

I know what you mean. Now I can see that there are still plenty of "easy" things to invent. Thinking of a good one though and then making it is really hard.

[@24pavlo]

Well, this was invented before you too.

[@AstolfoGayming]

I mean, in retrospect, that makes perfect sense.. But I'd never have come up with that myself, that's brilliant.

[@aikumaDK]

Just like most mathematical proofs (in my opinion)

[@MrATN800]

That's how it goes with most very clever devices and principles, in my admittedly short experience

[@andymcl92]

Galilean relativity, innit!

[@A-Milkdromeda-Laniakea-Hominid]

I'm still struggling to find out what the advantage is..🤔 Is it better, or just a clever different way? What's so bad about turning the auger screw, why is this better than a stationary tube and a spinning auger?

[@duodot]

@@A-Milkdromeda-Laniakea-Hominid I agree, I also thought it would make little difference, but upon further thought, it allows you to have a more sealed system as there's nothing that needs to connect from the outside and in to move the screw, and the casing agitates the bulk better than a shielded screw, so I reckon it loosens the material more easily and packs better as a result. But I still think it's black magic, there has to be a limit to high tall you can make these things, as at some point the resistance in the bulk in the hopper can't overcome the resistance of pushing the material up the screw and will stop feeding into the case, no?

[@NickyG-NZ]

"It's different, it's useful and if it helps people that's great" What a great mindset for inventing

[@twinstickwizard3941]

And the main advantage seems to be you can add as many bearings to the rotating part as you want and none of them can be contaminated by the product. Try that on the screw conveyor.

[@SylviaRustyFae]

Id still say the *main* advantage is it doesnt create dust. That is what made this thing so intriguin to so many and is its most important boon; as it grtly decreases risks of things like corn dust and sugar dust, which can create huge catastrophic injury lawsuits bcuz of how devastating, and hard to stop once they get started, they are. Ofc the cases where such happens are where the dust isnt maintained, but this makes it so they dont have to do nearly as much to maintain the dust bcuz they arent kickin up nearly as much. Also, if ya wanna see an example of such devastation, check out vids by the USCS which tells stories of industry accidents caused by things like this. They have one on a dust explosion that was caused by **several inches** worth of unmaintained dust allowed to buildup; they were even warned three times prior but failed to maintain the dust and it caused the whole place to go up in flames so damn fast that no one inside when it started was safe from it.

[@CL-go2ji]

Wow. That too!

[@martenvanwezel9694]

Thank you - I was wondering about this, the screw model seemed equally good but indeed I could imagine that with this you can keep any moving parts away from the material (or water!)

[@jl3423l4jsdf]

Put your bearings and rotating parts at the top of the screw not the bottom?

[@kevinmartin7760]

@@jl3423l4jsdf That's fine for a very short conveyor, but once it gets longer the central rotating screw will start to whip. The faster it rotates, the shorter/stiffer it has to be to avoid this.

[@smartereveryday]

What I like about this design is that it's not only the grabber at the bottom, but the friction of the grain against the pipe sidewall that makes it push up the incline. By that logic, the normal force against the pipe wall would increase as the rotational speed increases due to centrifugal force increasing. Clever!

[@allhailjuliantheminecrafte8624]

Yes! Very clever

[@aruhtaz]

sorry if im misunderstanding, but can anyone explain how the planar horizontal centrifugal force contribute to the upward vertical movement of the particles? Is it because the net force is up after accounting for the normal force from the screws surface and adding that to the friction on the walls? also @SmarterEveryDay, you probably wont see this but been a big fan of your channel for a very long time, just playing devils advocate!

[@Amaterasu-wh6xj]

@@aruhtaz friction can be described as the normal force acting on an object multiplied for the coefficient of friction. the coefficient of friction between two object is constant, so you can mostly ignore it. the normal force, however, can change. force is mass times acceleration, so the faster the grain moves the harder it presses against the walls of the tube, and the harder it grips the tube, the more friction is generated. this creates a positive feedback loop where the faster the tube is spinning, the faster the tube can spin.

[@spidercubed9718]

@林 No.

[@kreiker8902]

Centripetal force.

[@Awgolas]

This was invented in 2003, I can't believe it. It's so motivating knowing that there's still simple innovations that have been yet to be discovered.

[@HaileISela]

As someone on a constant journey of experimenting and expanding experience by creating models that tell me things I wouldn't have known otherwise, I can state that the simplest ideas, which incidentally have the broadest range of benefits, generally take the longest time to get around to. Part of it is the habit of thinking one knew what would happen, so why bother. Those moments when one does finally get around to something of this kind and then gets thoroughly mind expanded by all the unforeseen sides of it, those are mighty fun...

[@terenceokane]

Humans allegedly never once put wheels on luggage until the 70s!

[@Folsomdsf2]

Read the patents closer, it's related to specific uses. There is much old non protected prior art that related to transporting fluids at an angle by rotating the housing. It wasn't used much but was unsurprisingly found in train designs for a very short period. These guys have that sort of background so I'm not surprised that they made something along that train(haha) of thought for this purpose.

[@NoahGooder]

wait it really came out in 2003?

[@neplatnyudaj110]

How do you know this wasn't the last undiscovered simple innovation?

[@TheMetalButcher]

The fact that it took over 2200 years for this to be developed tells me that either someone's design was lost to time, or humanity really got stuck on a design that works. Either way, incredible amounts of Kudos for Mr. Olds to figure this out.

[@Rudy97]

Looking at this we should really invest in square tires.

[@iwanttwoscoops]

......how old do you think civilization is?

[@dumbqueerboy]

@@iwanttwoscoops Archimedes invented the screw in 250BC, 2,272 years ago.

[@Loweene_Ancalimon]

@@iwanttwoscoops 2200y since Archimedes wrote about the screw elevator

[@blechtic]

Maybe it sort of needed the kind of paradigm shift of thought that was popularized by the theory of relativity and the whole frame-of-reference thing? Also, how many people work with these kinds of things, in-depth, anyway? This is putting the dangerous moving part on the outside. You may need deep practical understanding to realize the advantages of doing it this way might outweigh the disadvantages vs. turning the screw.

[@snarf9455]

Mr.Olds seems like a genuine character. Loved hearing his story.

[@jono_high]

Looks like a bug, the devs will patch it soon.

[@army6669990101]

Its not a bug, its a feature.

[@britannia2129]

army6669990101 it just works

[@PrograError]

don't worry it's satisfactory

[@noreason2701]

Go back to school kid, the internet doesn't need you.

[@niksld]

@@noreason2701 How about you go ruin someone else's day?

[@aliciamcdermott5094]

The title of the video of sounds like a Roald Dahl book and that is adorable

[@jamesaugustinrichards4749]

it totally does hehe

[@LSPD1909]

Damn, now I want to read the BFG again.

[@aidanwansbrough7495]

Wow! You're right!!

[@JoshSweetvale]

@@LSPD1909 I love how that book basically ended with "And then the authorities were actually useful for once, and Britain did an X-COM."

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

Joshua Sweetvale I haven't played X-COM- do the villains just get dumped in a pit somewhere?

[@louisreinitz5642]

Sub title: A new twist on an old idea

[@OutbackCatgirl]

this is brilliant and i love it

[@yuotueb]

Isn't it an Olds twist though

[@tarrydmunster1916]

I'd go with "an Old twist on an old idea" Just to confuse people.

[@sudsreserve5474]

Clever sir! Well played 😁

[@jenkinsfamily2229]

Ba dum tssss

[@mikefochtman7164]

I'll take your word for the dust reduction properties. But to me, the 'oh wow would you look at that' moment was when Tom turned it backwards and the bird seed just sank right out of sight! Almost like magic how a slight turn to left or right makes the product just fill and drain along the tube wall with almost no internal agitation.

[@SpydersByte]

its all in those little fins at the bottom of the tube. Turn them one way and theyre forcing material into the thing and making it climb the screw, turn it the other way and it's actually pushing away the material in the bowl, giving the material in the screw space to fall into. If those fins werent on the bottom the thing would do nothing. Very cool invention and a very simple principle.

[@manjackson2772]

@@SpydersByte yes, that's the key that makes it easier to understand. When you're turning the screw, the bottom of the screw thread acts as a scoop, when you're turning the casing you need to replicate that part

[@kurtsnyder4752]

Didja know even concrete dust can explode?

[@Danuxsy]

@@kurtsnyder4752 i mean even my ass explodes from time to time

[@TheOriginalJphyper]

My biggest question is: How the heck does something like this not have a Wikipedia page?!

[@handymanr4729]

cos 'straya maaate. no one cbf

[@New-zm5vu]

They're too busy unpersoning undesirables and ret-conning history

[@adora_was_taken]

@@New-zm5vu what

[@lassaut6794]

@@adora_was_taken rewriting history and feeding a certain narrative.

[@Sophiebryson510]

Because needs to be in too many news article to be allowed

[@dennis_johnson]

I wonder what other simple looking devices and mechanisms we haven't discovered yet.

[@TheLeadhound]

A car that moves the planet under you rather than moving itself over the planet.

[@dennis_johnson]

@@TheLeadhound I think you're on to something 🤔

[@revimfadli4666]

A mechanism that reveals itself to humanity instead of being discovered?

[@mr.e3987]

@@TheLeadhound so reversing means spinning the planet backwards and you can go back in time like superman?

[@WardyLion]

I wonder if people are so focused on the solution being complex that they miss a simple solution just because they never considered the solution could be simple.

[@Steelcryo]

The joy on Toms face as he's spinning it at the end of the clip is great. The simple genius of the idea is just super satisfying to see in action

[@pennywayne1531]

Methinks Tom has a new toy

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@@pennywayne1531 Methinks I need this new toy.

[@UsDiYoNa]

Ive got notebooks with loads of sketches and mock-ups for invention ideas that I havent done anything with because Ive thought “Ah, 7.8 billion people alive today, and countless more who’ve come before, surely someones built this already”, but this inspires me to rethink that and pursue them.

[@svenbieli1094]

Everyone loving the design.. Me too ofc, but I'm more fascinated by this humble guy. He came up with such a great idea and there he sits saying if it helps ppl, then it's fine. What a legend.

[@zoeramsel5919]

"if you are confused by that..." YES YES I AM

[@EdGeLV]

I was hella confused

[@MrYoursoup]

It makes a lot more sense if you look at the bottom part, 4:55

[@ktaragorn]

@@MrYoursoup exactly.. It's the scoop that makes this work.. So it's not fair to call rotating the cylinder the same as rotating the screw.. As Tom did

[@Theorimlig]

Think of the screw as a spiral staircase. The scoops at 4:55 force grain (or whatever) into the bottom of the staircase and continue feeding more in, so the grain has nowhere to go but up!

[@JonasDAtlas]

@@ktaragorn Actually, I think it is fair to call it that - with a regular screw, you need some kind of casing and the screw forces the things you're lifting against the casing. In this case, the casing forces it against the screw, so it's just the other way around, as you'd expect.

[@reide96]

I remember a Tom Scott video a while back, about boats crossing rivers through the power of the current. I remember Tom mentioning at the end that it all made almost intuitive sense once you knew but people generally didn't think of it. I remember him then wondering what else was waiting to be figured out that everyone had just... missed. And here we are with Mr Olds' Elevator - something everyone just... missed. Remarkable.

[@SoMuchFacepalm]

What's the bet something is physics, like anti gravity or FTL, is also something everyone just... missed?

[@tangibleblockofwisdom6386]

@@SoMuchFacepalm eheheheeeheeeee 🤫😉

[@MySerpentine]

@@SoMuchFacepalm There's at least one sci-fi story like that, where other species figured it out in their version of the 1200s or so.

[@robertskitch]

The kind of innovation that could have been made and used hundreds of years ago if only someone had thought of it!

[@speedy01247]

They might have but then went WTF was I thinking this won't work.

[@vincentmuyo]

Which is why we want as many people as possible sound of mind and body.

[@BBC600]

Robert Skitch No they’d burn you at the stake for witchcraft if you show them this “technology”. ;-)

[@sirrivet9557]

BBC600 no they’d probably not be that surprised by a spinning tube and cork screw. Just would need some explaining

[@fredsavage4925]

When worldwide clients ditch their old machinery that works just fine for your product, you are a true inventor.

[@grapeapetape9132]

This is one of the few things that really would make a time traveller near instant millions a hundred years ago.

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

A true craftsman. The world will never not need people like him!

[@sindrehsoereide]

I was so sure that we were going to hear how this was invented like a hundred years ago by this dudes father. Then I realised that this was a recent invention. THAT IS AMAZING!!!

[@Axalon45]

This is still one of my favorite videos on this channel (along with the zero-G testing tower). Simple, elegant, innovative, just an idea that hits all the right spots.

[@Narokkurai]

You forgot to mention WHY it's an improvement over conventional screw elevators through. The main advantage is that, since the screw itself is fixed, it moves material much more efficiently upwards because it doesn't have to turn the screw against the resistance of all the grain being pulled down by gravity. It also allows for a large clearance between the screw and the casing cylinder, reducing friction and damage to the grain or equipment.

[@jamesrockefeller7808]

Also the screw doesn't have to go all the way to the top

[@PieMan061]

Tbf the inventor did mention that when he was describing it regarding the part about explosive dust

[@cheaterman49]

Jeez, the Olds wear their name very well! The older brother is from 1925, and Mr Peter from 1930? O__O long-living geniuses!

[@soentrueman7944]

I've always said curiosity keeps you young.

[@orang1921]

@@soentrueman7944 curiosity can't protect you from being stabbed 48 times

[@soentrueman7944]

@@orang1921 it can if you use your curiosity to learn self defence.

[@orang1921]

@@soentrueman7944 what about 49 stabs

[@two8three8]

@@orang1921 What *can* protect you from 48 stabs and more?

[@blueberry1c2]

If Archimedes was so great why isnt there an Archimedes II- Holy corn grains

[@bamberghh1691]

If Archimedes II was so great why isn't there an Archimedes II II?

[@llama_v2]

@@bamberghh1691 its a joke.

[@zUnderscore]

spectacledllama they know

[@notamike4576]

@@llama_v2 whoosh

[@alformodoritos2076]

If Archimedes was ao great, why isn't there an Archimedes Archimedes.

[@over07ful]

The idea came to him in a dream. Love that.

[@DJayDiamond]

Also Tom, you should do a series on great inventors of today - more of this kind of stuff...individual tinkerers in their sheds and workshops creating wacky stuff. I'm sure there's a whole world of people and inventions out there waiting for a chance to show off on your channel!

[@kikivoorburg]

I really love stuff like this. Although far less efficient, the “old days” of workshops with a bunch of highly trained people working there, and run by steam engines has a certain charm about it. This place is kind of like an up-to-date version of that. To see it produce an important invention is even more awesome!

[@James-ep2bx]

A fine example of why progress isn't a linear iterative process, you never know what others will spot or miss

[@Ahkmedren]

These kinds of innovations are why I enjoy humanity. There's always a new perspective yet to come. From youth to elder. I'm stoked to show this to the team I work with to hopefully inspire them to keep thinking of ideas for improving our shop. Revolutionary ideas can come in the simplest of forms

[@TurpInTexas]

I'm an engineer, thought I had seen just about everything. This video was a very pleasant surprise, thank you Tom, I totally wasn't expecting that!

[@ShadowKick32]

"It's not about having a good idea, it's about making it real" Engineering and art have so much in common.

[@jacksonpercy8044]

I'm an engineering student, but I fear that I lack the creativity and ingenuity to accomplish anything significant in my future career.

[@ShadowKick32]

@@jacksonpercy8044 Well that's a reasonable fear to have. But you don't have to be very creative to work as an engineer. If you don't have a lot of creativity you can always work for standard stuff. You wont be a genius but you don't have to. You can also work on your creativity. It's a skill like any other, work and make it grow. You'll probably learn ingeniusity on your studies. Don't worry too much, just work on it and it will be fine.

[@xenotiic8356]

Truly a class-act, and a totally old-school inventor! I love it! I love small mechanical shops like this.

[@TheAssassinPanda]

That is exactly the advantage of having someone approach a problem with a different point of view

[@therese294776]

Aaaargh Tom has graced my homeland with his presence and I MISSED IT, which I knew perfectly well would happen but which saddens me nonetheless -_-

[@muneebmalikvlogs4127]

What is your homeland

[@therese294776]

@@muneebmalikvlogs4127 Australia :)

[@muneebmalikvlogs4127]

@@therese294776 Oh

[@janssenmccormick7824]

Same feeling when I realized Tom was literally down the block from me at the Fascination game video from a couple months ago

[@CrashTestCoder]

I know the feeling, I live about halfway between the tree that owns itself and the high school with golf cart parking. Near the city where every household is required to have a gun. He's come close so many times

[@drumcdoo9050]

Coming from a farming background and having had machines mobile machines for cleaning and processing corn for decades find this incredibally interesting. I wonder how well screw would act regarding self cleaning when seed treatments were applied and if the wet and slightly sticky material would shear off efficiently? Think it may depend on bushal weight of material, size of seed and pitch/size of screw?

[@jgcelliott1]

Seems like it would work best with very dry material. The scoops at the bottom generate the compression to lift the material, and if it couldn't "flow" into the scoops you might run out of compression. Mumble, mumble, relationship between weight of material/ ease of "flow"/ rate of spin/ friction in tube... Anything sticky might not work as well, if at all. I'm an armchair engineer at best though, my two cents. .

[@Fossil_Frank]

@@jgcelliott1 Agreed, though there's another downside: you can never lift all of the product this way. Since the lower portions push up the higher ones, enough of it needs to always be accumulated at the bottom in order for the elevator to work.

[@TekZulu]

"It's different as usual and if it helps people, that's great." What a great guy!

[@boRegah]

This made me really happy somehow.

[@AbbreviatedReviews]

This is amazing to me. It's easy to imagine every simple machine has been created over the years. Clearly there's always room for improvement even at the most fundamental levels.

[@Michael_Lederman]

How no one has offered you a Mr. Science type show to help teach kids about things in the world they'd never get to know about otherwise, is beyond me.

[@celampan4682]

YES! He really does need to revise Nickelodeons Mr. Wizard Show!

[@DarkNexarius]

Why? Tom Scotts video are already high quality. What could "an oldschool TV network" do to improve it?

[@Michael_Lederman]

@@DarkNexarius Do you think every kid in the world uses youtube? More people watch television than youtube every single day of the year.

[@NoConsequenc3]

That's... what this is.

[@Michael_Lederman]

@@NoConsequenc3 It is a youtube video not a tv show now think monkey think

[@cavemanindustries5102]

This guy laughing at being called Archimedes 2. What a humble guy!

[@kama_boko_yaki]

This clip deserves more views

[@ashknoecklein]

Who knew we have yet to realize the full potential of simple machines???

[@hokostudios]

Honestly, when I think of the usual version of this sort of lift-with the rotating screw-I'd always thought of the movement as being the screw/product relative to each other. Perhaps that's how others have thought of it, too, and why simply no one thought of it for so long. This is actually kind of an eye-opener to the relationships involved in letting these types of lifts work.

[@MrSpasticdancer]

you have to be a genius to come up with something so simple that nobody thought of before.

[@nicknomski8399]

What a legend, and a family of legends

[@Uniquenameosaurus]

Its crazy how I can recognise a video is in Australia without being told just because of the mannerisms and the outdoor ambience.

[@blackbeard479]

Great video and invention. I think there’s an important difference between a conventional screw auger in a tube and the Olds elevator - not just a difference in “point of view”. In the conventional auger, the screw thread moves w.r.t. the material (and would do so, and elevate some material, even without the tube). In the Olds elevator, the screw thread is naturally stationary w.r.t. the material and relative movement only occurs because the tube drags some material along as it rotates. Note that there are screw augers where the tube rotates at the same speed as the screw (discussed in the background of the patent). There is no relative rotation between screw and tube in these - this shows that it is the relative rotation of the screw and the material that causes elevation. TLDR: Olds elevator is not equivalent to screw auger; relative rotation of screw and tube is red herring; Olds elevator works because tube drives material around screw so material follows thread upwards

[@cr-yi7ep]

The original Archimedes Screw is used primarily for liquids, which is why it has to be installed on an angle, so the pockets of liquid are carried up it. It's operating principle is gravity - each 'glob' of liquid stays in its 'pocket'. (That would also work for a flowing solid like grain etc). As a matter of constructional convenience some very large Archimedes screws e.g. in sewage works, are built with a rotating screw inside a fixed outer casing, but they still use gravity as the operating mechanism. This elevator looks very similar but the mechanism is quite different, it relies on relative motion between screw and casing and friction within the material being conveyed. As Tom says, there is no difference whether the screw rotates or the casing rotates. (An original Archimedes screw, with the screw fixed to the housing, would not work if stood vertically). Fascinating though, I'd never seen or heard of this before.

[@ThreadBomb]

I wonder if the Hills elevator has been tried with liquids?

[@cr-yi7ep]

@@ThreadBomb I'm not aware that it ever has. I think it might prove too inefficient, since it would rely on viscosity to make it operate (just as the Olds elevator relies on the forces between the grains) and viscosity absorbs a lot of energy.

[@geirmyrvagnes8718]

@@cr-yi7ep Maybe it would be a good solution for some thick gloopy, chunky liquid, but I don't want to think too much more about that. 🤢

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

Thanks Tom you take places I can no longer go. You always look like you're having a ball, enjoy it, it's a one way ride.

[@realemonful]

I would not have believed it if someone had just randomly mentioned it to me but seeing how it has that big scoop in the bottom and the material is light, it does make sense

[@saanrio]

Awesome design, Mr. Olds! Clever use of physics.

[@simongross3122]

Brilliant. Good old Aussie ingenuity.

[@grumpyhale821]

Spinning e casing in a sealed system is easier than spinning the helix as anything gear, belt, ect can spin the casing from the outside of the casing. Amazing it took so long for someone to actually realize and action on it.

[@CNSninja]

Simplicity is the cornerstone of brilliance.

[@SylviaRustyFae]

This is still among one of my favourite vids of yours. Its such a cool story and the amazement you show for this interestin novel invention is genuine and engaging

[@marvindebot3264]

Olds Engineering is a place of wonder. All they do is done well and there is no limit to what these guys can achieve especially when it comes to stuff no one else wants to do. Along with Bundaberg Foundries (another wonderland for an engineer) they are a gem of Queensland manufacturing.

[@Yossus]

Relative motion at its best - rotate the screw, or rotate the casing, it's all the same. Deceptively simple, like all great inventions!

[@aarond0623]

I think it still needs the scoops at the bottom, though, no? If it were JUST a casing rotating, then yes, the screw is "rotating" if you look at it from the perspective of the casing, but so is the material at the bottom, rotating away from the screw. You need the scoops to force the material to spin with the casing and get it going up the screw.

[@mementomori5580]

The question I have is: What's the difference? What does rotating the casing do that rotating the screw doesn't? Why couldn't they just rotate the screw? That simply not covered in this video. I mean yes, it's neat that you can get the same effect by just rotating the casing... but what is the point of doing that? What advantage does it have or what does it do different in comparison?

[@danielbricker7204]

@@mementomori5580 to my understanding the issue is getting the screw to scoop stuff enough, with the casing rotating the scoops at the bottom grab more stuff to move and therefore can move stuff more easily

[@Steve-XTC67]

Remarkable and inspiring in equal measures.....Brilliant!

[@mickys8065]

When you asked how people didn't figure out this device I remember a question nobody around me has been able to satisfactorily explain "Why did it take people so long to invent the steam engine?" The _Idea_ of using steam goes back to medieval torture designs but it took literally a thousand years to put a fan on top of that steam and harness the rotational energy that it produces. You even had the circular drums prisoners were forced to walk on to generate movement so the idea that something spinning can provide energy wasn't unheard off but it would take until around 1813 (According to wikipedia) that the steam ship was invented. When ships were the most important part of any kingdom with trade and military might surely people would have been looking for ways to advance ships the same way people are looking to advance encryption or hardware in modern times.

[@davidhynd4435]

Tom, welcome to Australia. My family and I love your videos. Thank you. I hope you enjoy your stay here. Bear in mind that we're experiencing the worst drought in living memory. It's always a "wide, brown land" (Australian poetry reference) but not usually _this_ brown. Also, anything with more than four legs or less than one are best left alone :)

[@nobels6915]

Excellent video! I would like to point out the Olds Engineering is located in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. As there is another one in Victoria, Australia as well.

[@Handle423]

Imagine how many things there haven't been discovered yet even though it's like right in front of us

[@weirdnomad8868]

I love watching smart people doing great things and be humble about it!

[@loudthing87]

This didn't make any sense until I saw the shape of the bottom of the tube at 4:56. It's not the auger itself that is raising the material, it's the tube forcing material into itself, then letting the auger guide where the material needs to go.

[@duchi882]

*How to learn new things:* 1. Watch Tom Scott videos

[@TheGreatSeraphim]

Don't even need to spin the whole cylinder. Just the scoops at the bottom.

[@supernova743]

It works because its not the screw spinning that lifts. Its the relation of the screw to the cylinder. So rotating the cylinder works the same as turning the screw.

[@Chraan]

Thank you, that actually makes more sense to me than Tom's explanation. If I understood him correctly he was referring to air pressure, but I don't see how that would help.

[@3nertia]

You have and are a gift. Thank you, Tom!

[@Akotski-ys9rr]

For some reason I love listening to old people tell stories

[@HispAnakin42]

I don’t understand what makes it different from just rotating the screw.

[@peternicholsonu6090]

You are right...you “don’t understand “

[@HispAnakin42]

@@peternicholsonu6090 thanks?

[@salvodippolito6013]

I think that the major advantage of this lift design is that while on a traditional setup you have to work against the friction between the container walls and the grain, with this design since the walls are moving mostly with the grain a lot of that friction is reduced and what is left of it is actually used to do work on the grain. Also, the spiral's shaft does not have to be perfectly aligned with the outer casing because of that huge gap between its edges and the casing walls, which means that it's easier to build way longer elevators at a fraction of the production costs of a traditional type screw elevator (where tolerances have to be much much stricter and increase drastically with the total length of the shaft). very cool design

[@kingjames4886]

I was slightly confused until you said "a couple of scoops on the bottom"... then it made perfect sense. it's essentially the same thing, but there's less friction overall I suppose... rather than the screw moving against all the material it's just the outside slipping against it and the bits at the bottom shoving it up... but does it really end up being better?

[@u1zha]

Outside isn't slipping. You see it 0:50. I think the friction isn't significantly less, and the video never claimed this was more energy efficient, right, probably it isn't. The improvement, as they say, is the full flow (less air moved, accurate volumetric feeder) and less dust. They are placing too little emphasis when saying it. 2:50 - 3:40

[@Jess-pe8bq]

Honestly, maybe the reason why no one else tried it was the adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” - the old method worked fine, so no one stopped to consider if there was a better version of the old method

[@CrippledMerc]

My dad always said the sign of a good invention is the amount of people who see it and say “How has nobody thought of this before?”

[@Ricky-pr5wz]

This is a very clever modification, but it wouldn't work without the 2 open flaps at the bottom of the tube, and the fact that the tube makes contact with the bottom of the barrel or is otherwise sealed at the bottom. When you rotate the tube, the flaps direct the flow of corn so that its pushed against the screw as if the screw was rotating. If there really was just a normal tube rotating around the screw, no part of it would apply a force to the corn and the tube would just rotate in the still corn. If you span this tube very fast in a water bucket even without the screw it would act like a normal pump

[@DylanJHewitsonBevis]

i love that you can hear the crows in the background. classic australia

[@greg5095]

Ravens technically

[@brageok]

That's so cool. Especially the screw not having to push the air!

[@LynnNexus]

I think the part that really fascinated me was the point made about the reduced dust. In a normal screw elevator there are grind points where the material is trying to fall back down to the previous space, on start up even if you have enough material to fill the screw you will have some that leads the rest, some that can fall back. If you set the screw anything other than vertical you'll have pockets of product in each thread of the screw, leaving large air pockets and making a point for the product to impact other product... all creating dust.... In this the only real grind point is all the way at the bottom. the scoops are the largest source of friction against the product, keeping most of the dust in the stuff all the way at the bottom. It really is absolutely brilliant

[@jeanetteshawredden5643]

Well said.

[@mementomori5580]

Counter questions: What is the advantage of rotating the zylinder vs. rotating the screw? Because you haven't really covered any of that. Why couldn't they just use an elevator that rotates the screw? What is different when rotating the zylinder instead of the screw?

[@crazzilla7203]

if you look to the bottom of the cylinder, it has 2 protrusions that will "scoop" the surrounding stuff into the central chamber. it's the rotation of the cylinder that keeps product moving toward the central screw

[@jamisonbreeding7181]

It seems like rotating the cylinder fills the entire cylinder, but rotating the screw will only lift the parts on the screw. much more surface are in contact with the material. I also wonder if previous elevators just didn't have a cylinder at all

[@ESSBrew]

RIght? I have some speculation as to the use of this technology. Currently to lift grain vertically, most often a grain elevator is used. Those are a conveyor of buckets that lift and dump drain at fast speeds. But they are not smooth, as in, the buckets come and dump with intervals, this method would supply a constant stream of grain. They already use augers with spinable corkscrews in them. But those are only able to go vertical to a certain degree, they are not employed to go completely vertical. Now Im not sure why spinning the casing is better for going completaly up and down, but maybe it uses less forces to work.

[@LukasFink1]

It’s explained from 2:50 onwards. The biggest advantage is the reduced dust production.

[@testickles]

It's easier to engineer. Because the moving section is on the outside, it can be belt or chain driven without any interference with the inside of the mechanism.

[@XBloodyBaneX]

I think the best part is that this wasn't designed by some team of scientists, through rigorous R&D and design phase after design phase. It was made by some guy in a small town in Australia after waking up in the middle of the night with the idea, likely without any type of higher education in mechanical engineering or something. It's like he did all the math unconsciously, and it just freaking works.

[@andrewclarkehomeimprovement]

How good is that! Think hard about a problem and then let the answer come to you. Works time and again.

[@Landrew0]

Remarkable that anyone could travel the world, making short videos about quirky subjects, and make any money.

[@Hexagonaldonut]

Having just watched Veritasium's video on relativity, this makes even more sense now. From the screw's perspective, nothing changes between this style and the 'conventional' style. Physics are weird.

[@angerthosenear_yt]

This reminds me of the chips that come out when drilling through stock on a milling machine. The stock is spinning, the drill is stagnant, but the chips still come out of the material being worked on.

[@magusperde365]

Wait so it isn't new?

[@d3str0i3r]

@@magusperde365 yes and no, something like this has been used for a long time yes, but it's never been intentionally built if that makes sense, and it's never been so multi-purpose

[@itaybron]

Archimedes II is an orbital laser in FNV, i say it's apt here as well.

[@TheKazragore]

I've never had a more satisfying moment than when I killed Legate Lanius with the Archimedes II laser. Damn that thing is awesome.

[@wombamatic]

Didn't realise Mr Olds had invented that - I knew of him through his achievements with steam trains in Maryborough. Very clever bloke.

[@azmax623]

My high school physics teacher used to demonstrate how grain silos blow their tops because of grain dust and static. The roof panels above her desk were blackened from her experiments.

[@hotdognr12323]

But does it work in the northern hemisphere? Remember, gravity is different in Australia

[@ppsarrakis]

easy you just have to screw it oposite way.

[@bujustic]

In normal world it only works if you have sand stuck on your ceiling

[@adamsbja]

You just need to pour in a can of Foster's in the morning.

[@GumSkyloard]

Only if you do it on the ceiling.

[@oldsmecheng]

yes, works just the same...along with 89% to the world's population, more OLDS Elevators are in the northern hemisphere then in the southern

[@Rmx2011]

My mind is a bit blown. It's such a simple idea in the end. Wow.