![]() ![]() Schwarze’s fungal treatment was modeled on a fine, antique violin by Guarneri del Gesù, the “Caspar Hauser” from 1724. The goal was to manipulate the density of the wood, which is crucial for the sound, in such a way that the material is on a par with that used in the antique Italian instruments. “As soon as the wood structure had reached the desired state, the fungi were removed using a germicidal gas.” All the same, the fungus eventually had to be stopped in its tracks. The violin fungi, on the other hand, were content with 0.5 to 1 percent. “Other pests break down up to 50 percent of the mass in the same time,” says Schwarze. The white rot pathogens come from the sluggish brigade and eat appreciatively: for the two to three months, in which the germs feasted away on the timber for the biotech violins, they barely affected the wood’s mass. Sure enough, the hyphae transformed the maple and pine wood into a material that is just the ticket for violin-making. He managed to recruit a helper from nature: a natural fungus that causes white rot in trees, which the researcher used it on the material under controlled conditions in the lab. Sure enough, the hyphae transformed the maple and pine wood into a material that is just the ticket for violin-making.Īnd so Schwarze set out in search of a way to modify wood to resemble its antique counterpart. And so Schwarze set out in search of a way to modify wood to resemble its antique counterpart. Apparently, today’s timber has less favorable properties for violin-making. “Nowadays, trees grow more rapidly and unevenly than during a very particular cold spell in the 17th century, when the wood for Stradivari’s instruments was felled,” explains the wood researcher. Global warming is one explanation, says Francis Schwarze from Empa’s Applied Wood Materials lab in St. Exactly why certain violins, such as a Stradivarius, sound so special remains a mystery. ![]()
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