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Using radiogenic isotope geology. Carbon dating only works on very recent things (up to a few tens of thousands of years). For older things like the earth and
by acidburnNSA 10y ago
Using radiogenic isotope geology.
Carbon dating only works on very recent things (up to a few tens of thousands of years). For older things like the earth and these fossils, slower-ticking radiometric clocks (like Uranium-Lead clocks) must be used. There was a great COSMOS episode discussing the history of it [1] but the fascinating math and science behind it is better explained for the layperson in [2].
[1] http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/cosmos-a-spacetime-odyssey/episodes/the-clean-room/ http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/cosmos-a-spacetime-ody...
[2] https://whatisnuclear.com/physics/age_of_earth.html https://whatisnuclear.com/physics/age_of_earth.html
- nonbel 10y ago>"Carbon dating only works on very recent things" Ironically, it doesn't work well at all for dating very recent objects though, at least without a huge fudge factor that could only be applied if very specific info is available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Radiocarbon_bomb_spike.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Radiocarbon_bomb_spike.sv...
- bashinator 10y agoThere are other dating techniques that use trace radioactive elements from nuclear bomb testing that have accumulated in living organisms. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867405004083 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867405...
- acidburnNSA 10y agoWell, I meant very recent in the geological sense ;) Good calibration curves accounting for things like that in your link are definitely required to get modern-era results, and with a 5,730 year half-life, it's difficult to even make meaningful measurements to throw onto the curve. So you're right.