radiometric dating
Decay-based age measurement
Radiometric dating is a method for determining the age of rocks, fossils, and other materials by measuring the decay of radioactive isotopes within them.
Because radioactive elements decay at known, constant rates, scientists can calculate how long ago a sample formed.
Carbon dating is the most familiar type, used for organic materials up to about 50,000 years old; other isotopes date materials billions of years old.
Isotopic age-determination method
- potassium-argonIsotopic age-determination technique
- carbon-14Radioactive isotope for dating
- thermoluminescenceLight from heated irradiated material
- mass spectrometryMeasures ionic weight ratios
Radioactive isotope for dating
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- prehistoric sitesLocations from before history
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- PaleolithicEarliest archaeological era
Bronze Age · Iron Age · charcoal · bone fragments · Ötzi · Dead Sea Scrolls · cave paintings · dendrochronology
Period for fifty-percent reduction
- alpha decayEmission of helium nuclei
- beta decayRadioactive nucleon transformation process
- atomic nucleusDense atomic center
- decay rateSpeed of deterioration
Preserved ancient organism traces
- dinosaursExtinct prehistoric reptiles
- extinction eventsCatastrophes eliminating many species
- JurassicDinosaur-dominated geological period
- CretaceousFinal Mesozoic period
Cambrian · trilobites · megafauna · Lucy · paleobiology · collagen · fossil record · mass extinction
Zirconium silicate crystal
- igneous rockCrystallized molten material
- metamorphic rockStone transformed by subsurface conditions
- volcanic ashFragmented rock from eruptions
- tuffSolidified volcanic ash
basalt · granite · geological timescale · Precambrian · Archean · Proterozoic · orogeny · deep time
Duration measurement system
- periodizationDivision into distinct periods
- chronometricOf precise time measurement
- antiquityGreat age, ancient era
- millenniaThousand-year periods
eons · epochs · Quaternary · Holocene · Pleistocene
uranium-lead
Isotopic age-determination method
- potassium-argonIsotopic age-determination technique
- carbon-14Radioactive isotope for dating
- thermoluminescenceLight from heated irradiated material
carbon-14
Radioactive isotope for dating
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- prehistoric sitesLocations from before history
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
Paleolithic · Bronze Age · Iron Age · charcoal · bone fragments · Ötzi · Dead Sea Scrolls · cave paintings · dendrochronology · human migration
half-life
Period for fifty-percent reduction
- alpha decayEmission of helium nuclei
- beta decayRadioactive nucleon transformation process
- atomic nucleusDense atomic center
fossils
Preserved ancient organism traces
- dinosaursExtinct prehistoric reptiles
- extinction eventsCatastrophes eliminating many species
- JurassicDinosaur-dominated geological period
Cretaceous · Cambrian · trilobites · megafauna · Lucy · paleobiology · collagen · fossil record · mass extinction
zircon
Zirconium silicate crystal
- igneous rockCrystallized molten material
- metamorphic rockStone transformed by subsurface conditions
- volcanic ashFragmented rock from eruptions
tuff · basalt · granite · geological timescale · Precambrian · Archean · Proterozoic · orogeny · deep time · billion years
time scale
Duration measurement system
- periodizationDivision into distinct periods
- chronometricOf precise time measurement
- antiquityGreat age, ancient era
millennia · eons · epochs · Quaternary · Holocene · Pleistocene
radiometric datingcreation science
Pseudoscience supporting scriptural literalism
radiometric datingrelative dating
Sequencing events by position
stratigraphy · superposition · seriation · faunal succession
dating, radiation, metric, radioactive, radioactivity, radioisotope, radionuclide, radiometric, radiometer