Andy Piacsek - Measuring resonances of violins and skulls: à la recherche des petites variations

Measuring resonances of violins and skulls:  à la recherche des petites variations

This talk describes two ongoing research projects in the acoustics lab at Central Washington University.  The first experiment investigates the "playing-in effect," in which the sound of a new violin is said to improve after some amount of playing (the same claim is made for many other instruments in the lute family).  Specifically, we look for changes in the vibrational response of two previously unplayed violins that can be attributed to a prolonged mechanical stimulus; a third violin, which is not stimulated, serves as a control.

The second project investigates the potential suitability of a technique for noninvasively monitoring changes in intracranial pressure by measuring the vibrational response of the skull.  This method builds on our previous observations and numerical results with a spherical fluid-filled aluminum shell.