Some drill and bore the solid earth, and from the strata there
Extract a register, by which we learn that He who made it,
and revealed it date to Moses, was mistaken in its age!
- William Cowper (late 18th century)
Previously used dating techniques
scripture (Bishop Ussher)The atom
sedimentation rates
salt accumulation (Joly)
cooling rates (Lord Kelvin)
radioactivity
protonsradioactive decay
neutrons
electrons
atomic mass
atomic number
isotope
betaCarbon-14
electron capture
alpha
half life
How to build an atomic bomb
How a nuclear reactor works
Useful links:
Earth Science Picture of the Day
Return to Historical Geology syllabus