Radiometric dating

Radiometric dating, radioactive dating or radioisotope dating is a technique which is used to <a href="/facts/Chronological_dating/xYYqj6qK">date</a> materials such as <a href="/facts/Rock_(geology)/FXCJkmop">rocks</a> or <a href="/facts/Carbon/ukrgQexo">carbon</a>, in which trace radioactive <a href="/facts/Impurity/FfPvIRoB">impurities</a> were selectively incorporated when they were formed. The method compares the abundance of a naturally occurring <a href="/facts/Radionuclide/5WpCfbdq">radioactive isotope</a> within the material to the abundance of its <a href="/facts/Radioactive_decay/Ya6FVjt4">decay</a> products, which form at a known constant rate of decay. Radiometric dating of minerals and rocks was pioneered by <a href="/facts/Ernest_Rutherford/hjjMEskl">Ernest Rutherford</a> (1906) and <a href="/facts/Bertram_Boltwood/sWLxNyIE">Bertram Boltwood</a> (1907). Radiometric dating is now the principal source of information about the <a href="/facts/Absolute_dating/qYHIGBEu">absolute age</a> of rocks and other <a href="/facts/Geology/WGvVRIYF">geological features</a>, including the age of <a href="/facts/Paleontology/60n5yldd">fossilized life forms</a> or the <a href="/facts/Age_of_Earth/MxNh2Q11">age of Earth</a> itself, and can also be used to date a wide range of natural and <a href="/facts/Artifact_(archaeology)/SftLTFf5">man-made materials</a>.
Together with <a href="/facts/Stratigraphy/o3J6Ij3R">stratigraphic principles</a>, radiometric dating methods are used in <a href="/facts/Geochronology/U8hRTGwL">geochronology</a> to establish the <a href="/facts/Geologic_time_scale/vBAm0D8Q">geologic time scale</a>. Among the best-known techniques are <a href="/facts/Radiocarbon_dating/qjNglhKP">radiocarbon dating</a>, <a href="/facts/Potassium%25E2%2580%2593argon_dating/JQdWfdIB">potassium–argon dating</a> and <a href="/facts/Uranium%25E2%2580%2593lead_dating/LMCJBhrQ">uranium–lead dating</a>. By allowing the establishment of geological timescales, it provides a significant source of information about the ages of <a href="/facts/Fossil/by7NzIA1">fossils</a> and the deduced rates of <a href="/facts/Evolution/qE5amP6a">evolutionary</a> change. Radiometric dating is also used to date <a href="/facts/Archaeology/K3Q5P38R">archaeological</a> materials, including ancient artifacts.
Different methods of radiometric dating vary in the timescale over which they are accurate and the materials to which they can be applied.

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Radiometric dating