Scientists unravel the mystery of the Stradivarius violin

According to some musicians, Stradivarius violins reproduce music with a level of purity that

not among modern instruments.It is believed that it is all down to the mysterious processing that was used a hundred years ago by Antonio Stradivari and gives them a unique appearance and sound. To unravel the mystery, experts in the field of analytical chemistry took nanometer-scale images of two Stradivarius violins. As a result, they discovered a layer of protein-based material that was located between the wood and the varnish.

Previous studies have shown that someString instruments created by Stradivarius are distinguished by a hidden coating under a shiny varnish. It is necessary to fill and smooth the wood. All this affects the resonance of the wood and the sound produced by the instrument. Knowing the components of this layer is the key to reproducing historical instruments in modern times.

In a new study, experts examined the composition of the layer between wood and varnish in two precious violins, a 1718 San Lorenzo and a 1690 Toscano.

Scientists used infrared spectroscopywith a Fourier transform, they found that there was an intermediate layer on two of the samples, but which one was unknown. They then used infrared scattering near-field scanning microscopy (IR s-SNOM) to analyze the samples.

The results showed that the layer between the treeand the varnish on both instruments contains protein-based compounds that aggregate into nano-sized spots. Although scientists are closer to solving the mystery of the Stradivarius violin, further research is needed to learn more.

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