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LoginCosmos » Earth. But how is it dated? What does radiometric dating actually mean? And what methods of dating can be used to date which kinds of items? Radiometric dating is a method of establishing how old something is — perhaps a wooden artefact, a rock, or a fossil — based on the presence of a radioactive isotope within it. The basic logic behind radiometric dating is that if you compare the presence of a radioactive isotope within a sample to its known abundance on Earth, and its known half-life its rate of decay , you can calculate the age of the sample. Radiometric dating is useful for finding the age of ancient things, because many radioactive materials decay at a slow rate.
Not sure what you're looking for? Browse the A-Z index. Archaeologists have two main ways to tell the age of sites and artifacts. Relative dating tells how old something is in relation to other objects, but cannot provide a year or specific date of use. In contrast, absolute dating provides a specific calendar year for the occupation of a site.
Potassium-Argon Dating Potassium-Argon dating is the only viable technique for dating very old archaeological materials. Geologists have used this method to date rocks as much as 4 billion years old. It is based on the fact that some of the radioactive isotope of Potassium, Potassium K ,decays to the gas Argon as Argon Ar By comparing the proportion of K to Ar in a sample of volcanic rock, and knowing the decay rate of K, the date that the rock formed can be determined. How Does the Reaction Work?
Potassium—argon dating , abbreviated K—Ar dating , is a radiometric dating method used in geochronology and archaeology. It is based on measurement of the product of the radioactive decay of an isotope of potassium K into argon Ar. Potassium is a common element found in many materials, such as feldspars , micas , clay minerals , tephra , and evaporites.
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