Is mass created by vibrating vacuum?

Where mass comes from is one of the deepest mysteries of nature. Now a controversial theory suggests that mass comes from the interaction of matter with the quantum vacuum that pervades the universe.

The theory was previously used to explain inertial mass – the property of matter that resists acceleration – but it has been extended to gravitational mass, which is the property of matter that feels the tug of gravity.

For decades, mainstream opinion has held that something called the Higgs field gives matter its mass, mediated by a particle called the Higgs boson. But no one has yet seen the Higgs boson, despite considerable time and money spent looking for it in particle accelerators.

In the 1990s, Alfonso Rueda of California State University in Long Beach and Bernard Haisch, who was then at the California Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in Scotts Valley and is now with ManyOne Networks, suggested that a very different kind of field known as the quantum vacuum might be responsible for mass. This field, which is predicted by quantum theory, is the lowest energy state of space-time and is made of residual electromagnetic vibrations at every point in the universe. It is also called a zeropoint field and is thought to manifest itself as a sea of virtual photons that continually pop into and out of existence.

Read more @ Eureka Alert and NewScientist (Premium Subscription Required).

China to send satellite to the Moon

China is on track to launch its first scientific satellite to orbit the Moon in 2007, according to the country’s official news agency Xinhua. The orbiter will pave the way for future lunar missions and is just part of China's ambitious, if secretive, space programme.

Various designs for the spacecraft have been completed and one or two will begin development in September, the mission's chief designer, Ye Peijian of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told a space technology conference in Beijing this week.

The mission, called Chang'e-I after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang'e, will map the Moon in 3D, helping to identify safe landing spots for future missions. It will study the Moon's composition and radiation environment and may use radar to probe below its surface.

Read more @ NewScientist Space.

Reconstructed face of Lapita culture

The University of the South Pacific today revealed the face of one of the very first people to have lived in the Fiji Islands. The face of Mana - the 3000 year old woman from Fiji, was unveiled by USP Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Tarr during a special ceremony organised to mark this historical event.

While something like this is becoming common internationally, this is the first time a face from the Lapita era in the Pacific, has been revealed. The face of Mana was reconstructed using a model of her skull which was discovered by a member of a research team from USP and the Fiji Museum which excavated an early human settlement at Naitabale in the south of Moturiki Island, central Fiji (Map 1) in June-July 2002. The team was led by Patrick Nunn, Professor of Geography at USP, aided by Mr Sepeti Matararaba of the Fiji Museum and Ms Roselyn Kumar (USP's Institute of Applied Science).

The Naitabale settlement was probably established about 1000 BC by a group of Lapita people whose ancestors had come from the Solomon Islands. The distinctive Lapita pottery that identifies the culture of these early settlers was found in abundance at the Naitabale settlement.

In the course of excavations at Naitabale in 2002, a complete human skeleton was discovered in beach sand more than 1.5 metres below the ground surface. The skeleton was covered by undisturbed layers of sediment (sand and silt) in which Lapita pottery was found. The discovery of the skeleton was exciting because it appeared certain to be of Lapita age.

Lapita-age skeletons are few. Some have been found in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, but this skeleton was perhaps only the 16th found. What was also remarkable about this skeleton was the excellent state of preservation of the skull.

Read more @ Scoop.co.nz.

Sciotecha Yahoo group is back!

That's right folks -- my Yahoo group for Sciotecha is now back. Every post made to Sciotecha is sent to the Yahoo group, so if you're wanting to keep up to date with the latest news posted here, then please consider joining the Yahoo group.

What happened to the old Yahoo group for Sciotecha? Well that's a good question! I did not delete it; one day I checked Yahoo and it had simply vanished into thin air, or something even less substantial than that. Possibly it was related to how little I've posted to this blog over the last year or so, but I can't be sure. I emailed Yahoo Support and they seemed to have no idea either!

Anyhow, the group is back and I will be trying to return to posting regularly to this blog. So please consider joining up with the Yahoo group so you can keep up to date with Sciotecha via emails and thus without having to visit the site.

Ash Harman
Editor, Sciotecha

Launch of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Nasa's Mars probe has launched after two days of delays, on a mission to map and find water on the Red Planet.

The $720m (£397m) Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) blasted off at 1243 BST (1143 GMT) on Friday after being delayed for two days running.

A launch attempt on Thursday was scrubbed due to a sensor malfunction.

MRO will arrive at Mars in March on a four-year mission; its cameras will send back the clearest images yet of the planet from space.

Read more @ BBC Science News.