Avery 21
Claira 26
Fay 10
Firoelle 15
Gabby 16
K'Alicia 41
Krysty Grace 30
Maya 2
Meda 10
Nahuel 15
Nate 3
Nick 19
Oosei 3
Owen 29
Payton 19
Sam 20
Thane 49
Willem 51
Willie 7
Johanna 15
Bamberg Symphony: Scientists measure aerosol emissions
Scientists at the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra use measurements of air currents to investigate how many aerosols the trombone, clarinet and horn emit. The suspended matter is considered to be particularly risky, especially in times of Corona.
Starting today (May 5th, 2020), the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra will examine how much aerosols their wood and brass instruments emit when playing. Especially instruments that are blown into are considered risky in the course of the corona crisis. If a player suffers from a corona infection, he could spread the virus in the air around him .
Three to twelve meters away
Therefore, there are currently recommendations that wind players should make music at a distance of three to twelve meters from one another in order to protect against infection .
"We believe, however, that playing a clarinet or a horn, for example, hardly releases any aerosols because the airflow in the instrument is slowed down where the tones are generated," says Marcus Axt, director of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.
Visible air currents through fog
For this reason, experts from a fluid mechanics company in Erlangen were commissioned to use sensors to measure the air flows that escape from an instrument while playing. In addition, they were made visible with artificial fog. The experiment was observed by two scientists from the Freiburg Institute for Musicians' Medicine, who previously recommended a distance of three to five meters for wind instruments.
Breathing air movement hardly measurable
First investigations showed hardly measurable breathing air movements in both wood and brass players. Neither the opening keys of a bassoon nor the bell of a trumpet showed any turbulence in the artificial mist. If, on the other hand, the mist was blown or coughed directly and without an instrument, there was strong turbulence. Professor Dr. med. Bernhard Richter from the Freiburg Institute for Musicians' Medicine commented on the first investigations:
"That confirms our expectations and makes us confident about the future of public music making." Prof. Bernhard Richter, Freiburg Institute for Musicians' Medicine.After the measurements in the concert hall in Bamberg, further tests are to be carried out in the laboratory. The results will then be presented to virologists in Berlin and Munich, who will use them to formulate recommendations for action for politics, according to the plan of the artistic director Marcus Axt.
Music without danger
The aim of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and around 130 other professional orchestras in Germany is to be able to play concerts again as soon as possible without endangering the health of the musicians and the audience.