Wood Density May Explain Stradivarius Secret

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday July 3, 2008 @02:37AM from the don't-sit-on-it dept.

Whorhay writes "A Dutch doctor and a violin maker from Arkansas have compared five classical and eight modern violins in a computed tomography (CT) scanner. Apparently the 300-year-old violins are made of wood with a more consistent density than the modern violins. They aren't saying for sure that this is what gives the Stradivarius violins their unique sound, but it's the first scientific explanation I've heard for it that seems to have merit." Unfortunately science has yet to explain how how all three chords I know ROCK on my SG.

1 of 318 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Little Ice Age by SputnikPanic · 2008-07-03 02:47 · Score: 1, Redundant

I remember watching something on History or Discovery a couple of years ago where they postulated that the higher density of the wood used for Stradivarius violins was attributable to the Little Ice Age. It was quite an interesting program all around.