Mathematicians look at sound holes

The Economist (Feb 14, 2015 issue, pg 71) has an article that is titled "Making Sweet music" that discusses the evolution of sound holes in violin making. One section says "Dr. Makris and his team noticed that, in the transition from tenth century fithele to 18th century violin, the holes on the top of the sound box evolved from simple circles to the complex, elongated f-shapes familiar in today's instruments. They wondered why.

The answer, arrived after several pages of advanced mathematics, and confirmed by experiment, is that holes sound amplification properties depend not on their area but on the length of their peripheries. . . . The final Cretonne design had twice the sonic output of the circular holes of the fithele"

The study is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society by Nicholas Makris of MIT in partnership with a Boston violin maker, Roman Barnas.

Interesting!