Radioactive Dating
What is Radioactive Dating?
Radioactive dating (radiometric dating) is a technique for determining the age of materials by measuring the ratio of a radioactive parent isotope to its stable daughter product(s), based on the known half-life of the parent. Carbon-14 dating is used for organic materials up to ~50,000 years old; potassium-argon, uranium-lead, and rubidium-strontium methods are used for geological samples millions to billions of years old. The accuracy of radiometric dating depends on the constancy of decay rates and the absence of contamination or isotope gain/loss.
Key Facts
Frequently Asked Questions
Radioactive dating (radiometric dating) is a technique for determining the age of materials by measuring the ratio of a radioactive parent isotope to its stable daughter product(s), based on the known half-life of the parent. Carbon-14 dating is used for organic materials up to ~50,000 years old; potassium-argon, uranium-lead, and rubidium-strontium methods are used for geological samples millions to billions of years old. The accuracy of radiometric dating depends on the constancy of decay rates and the absence of contamination or isotope gain/loss.