Innovative New Research Could Lead to Violin Sounds of Old

Physics Central, a web site run by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), is currently featuring ECU Professor of Physics emeritus, Dr. George Bissinger's research on the physics of violins.  Bissinger uses modern technology to analyze both old and modern violins.  He uses a laser system composed of three independent beams that scan the surface of the violin and within the three dimensions measures the motion of each point. 

Bissinger then suspends the violin and induces it to vibrate by a small hammer that thumps the corner of the bridge.  266 microphones in an echo free chamber record the variations in pressure from sound output. Through these measurements a picture of the sound field can be produced.  Finally, Bissinger is able to calculate how the damping of the violin's vibration and the radiation efficiency depend on frequency.             

Through his studies, Bissinger has been able to show that top plates of good instruments, old and new, produce more sound than bottom plates.  He has also been able to isolate out-of-plane vibrations from in-plane vibrations, and has found that features such as the f-holes and bass bar are able to convert in-plane motion to out-of-plane motion increasing the sound production of the instrument.             

The study of violins is a fragile and sensitive one and studying the physics behind it requires much care and fluidity.  The increasingly innovative methods researchers such as Bissinger are using to gain insight into the motion and sound production of such an extraordinary instrument are leading them on a path to discovering how violins of old can become the violins of new.  

View the entire February 2009 Issue of Exploration & Discovery