#5 Caroline D'Angelo: The history and physics of stringed instruments

The violin family (violin, viola, cello and contrabass) of musical instruments are the result of an impressive amount of precise engineering and artistry that gives them a range of volume, pitch, and tone unmatched by any other instrument. In this talk I will discuss the evolution of the violin, from the murky origins of bowed instruments (which exist in many different cultures) all the way up to the present day. I will then focus on the physics of sound production in the modern violin, starting with the mechanics of producing a sound with a bow (a driven harmonic oscillator, with complications), and exploring how the normal modes of resonance (which produce "Chladni patterns") produce the characteristic "violin" sound. I will round out my talk with a discussion (with a live demonstration) of some of the different techniques used in playing a stringed instrument, and discuss how they affect the quality (pitch, timbre and volume) of the sound. Depending on interest and time, some audience members will get a chance to try out some of what they have learned on a real instrument ...

#4 Roderik Overzier: The Discovery of Mycenaean Europe

The story of the discovery of early bronze age Greece as one of the first great cultural centres of Europe has all the elements that make up a good adventure story: ancient legends, tombs, treasure, lost languages, deception, love, hate, and war. Key to this story are the intriguing but tragic lives of heroes such as Henry Schliemann and Michael Ventris, who should personally be credited with extending our knowledge of early European history by nearly a thousand years into the past. In this informal talk, I will attempt to give a brief account of this exciting story.