radiometric dating

(noun)

A technique used to date materials such as rocks, based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioisotope and its decay products, using known decay rates.

Related Terms

(noun)

A technique used to date materials by comparing the natural abundance of radioactive atoms to their remaining decay products.

Related Terms

Examples of radiometric dating in the following topics:

  • Dating Using Radioactive Decay

    • Radiometric dating is used to date materials using the decay rate of a radioactive isotope.
    • Radiometric dating, often called radioactive dating, is a technique used to determine the age of materials such as rocks.
    • The best-known radiometric dating techniques include radiocarbon dating, potassium-argon dating, and uranium-lead dating.
    • The different methods of radiometric dating are accurate over different timescales, and they are useful for different materials.
    • In these cases, the half-life of interest in radiometric dating is usually the longest one in the chain.

  • Isotopes

    • Because the half-life of 14C is long, it is used to date formerly-living objects such as old bones or wood.
    • This technique is called radiocarbon dating, or carbon dating for short.
    • Scientists often use these other radioactive elements to date objects that are older than 50,000 years (the limit of carbon dating).
    • Through the use of radiometric dating, scientists can study the age of fossils or other remains of extinct organisms.
    • Discuss the properties of isotopes and their use in radiometric dating

  • Properties of Carbon

    • It is used in radiometric dating to determine the age of carbonaceous samples (of physical or biological origin) up to about 60,000 years old.

  • John Dalton and Atomic Theory

    • Although the concept of the atom dates back to the ideas of Democritus, the English meteorologist and chemist John Dalton formulated the first modern description of it as the fundamental building block of chemical structures.

  • Particle Accelerator

    • The term transmutation dates back to alchemy.

  • The Bottom of the Periodic Table

    • This representation, clumsy as it is, correctly shows the elements known to date, up to z=118, unonoctium.

  • Electron Configurations and Magnetic Properties of Ions

    • There are various types of magnetism identified to date that can be organized in a hierarchy.

  • Development of the Periodic Table

    • Atomic theory dates back to the ancient Greek philosophers and those of Hellenistic Egypt.