Intense beams of synchrotron X-rays produced at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble have revealed the inner workings of Niccolò Paganini’s favourite violin. Renowned for its acoustic prowess, the 280 year-old “Il Cannone” ranks among the most important instruments in the history of Western music. To help understand and preserve the precious artefact, the Municipality of Genoa in Italy and the Premio Paganini teamed up with researchers at the ESRF’s new BM18 beam line to study the structural status of the wood and its bonding.
Using multi-resolution propagation phase-contrast X-ray microtomography, a non-destructive technique widely used at the ESRF for palaeontology, the team was able to reconstruct a 3D image of the violin at the level of its cellular structure. In addition to revealing Il Cannone’s conservation status and structure, the results hint at the interventions made by luthiers throughout the instrument’s life.
In few months, we will be able to work on much larger instruments, up to the size of a double bass
Paul Tafforeau, ESRF
Inaugurated in 1994, the ESRF was the first “third generation” synchrotron, using periodic magnetic arrays called undulators to deliver the world’s brightest X-ray beams. It consists of a 844 m-circumference 6 GeV electron storage ring with almost 50 experimental stations serving around 5000 users per year across a wide range of disciplines. The study of Paganini’s violin was made possible by an EUR 330 million upgrade called the Extremely Brilliant Source, which came online in 2020. With an increased X-ray brightness and coherent flux 100 times higher than before, the facility allows complex materials to be imaged more quickly and in greater detail.
“We had to deal with some logistical and technical challenges, but the ESRF team did an incredible job to make this dream a reality,” says Paul Tafforeau, ESRF scientist in charge of BM18. “I hope that this experiment will be the first in a long series. In few months, we will be able to work on much larger instruments, up to the size of a double bass.”
