• Unstable isotopes decay through various radioactive decay pathways. (radiation-dosimetry.org)
  • Unstable isotopes decay through various radioactive decay pathways, most commonly alpha decay, beta decay, or electron capture. (radiation-dosimetry.org)
  • Nuclear decay (Radioactive decay) occurs when an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing radiation . (radiation-dosimetry.org)
  • A radionuclide ( radioactive nuclide , radioisotope or radioactive isotope ) is a nuclide that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable. (wikipedia.org)
  • The radioactive decay can produce a stable nuclide or will sometimes produce a new unstable radionuclide which may undergo further decay. (wikipedia.org)
  • All isotopes of uranium are radioactive, meaning their nuclei are unstable and will decay over time. (wyo.gov)
  • However, there are trace amounts of the unstable (radioactive) isotope 36 Cl, which is naturally produced in the atmosphere. (wanttoknowit.com)
  • Aside from these 3 isotopes, there are 21 other unstable isotopes of chlorine. (wanttoknowit.com)
  • All of these unstable isotopes have a half life of less than 1 hour and most have a half life of less than a second. (wanttoknowit.com)
  • Most of the unstable isotopes below 35 Cl decay to silicon and most of the unstable isotopes above 37 Cl decay to Argon. (wanttoknowit.com)
  • This sequence of unstable atomic nuclei and their modes of decays , which leads to a stable nucleus, is known as the radioactive series . (material-properties.org)
  • Beta particle ( ionizing radiation ) - a charged particle emitted from the nucleus of certain unstable atomic nuclei (radioactive isotopes), having the charge and mass of an electron. (cdc.gov)
  • Isotopic relationship of rocks, or the minerals in them, relies on the truth that we know the decay rates of sure unstable isotopes of elements and that these charges have been fixed over geological time. (gicjo.net)
  • This technique is certainly one of a family of strategies that use a number of, completely different unstable uranium isotopes that decay into stable lead isotopes by totally different chemical pathways. (gicjo.net)
  • A Radionuclide (radioactive nuclide or radionuclides) is an unstable nuclide and thus degenerates emitting ionizing radiation . (msrblog.com)
  • In its elementary state uranium is only weakly radioactive due to its unstable isotopes, which vary naturally. (euradcom.org)
  • However, 204Pb is only present primordially, while the other three isotopes may also occur as radiogenic decay products of uranium and thorium. (wikipedia.org)
  • In rocks that contain uranium and thorium, the excess amounts of the three heavier lead isotopes allows the rocks to be "dated", thus providing a time estimate for when the rock solidified and the mineral held the ratio of isotopes fixed and in place. (wikipedia.org)
  • Another fissile isotope, uranium-233 , can be produced from natural thorium and is studied for future industrial use in nuclear technology. (wikimili.com)
  • Occurs naturally from uranium and thorium decay. (ontologyportal.org)
  • The major isotopes of concern for terrestrial radiation are potassium, uranium and the decay products of uranium, such as thorium, radium, and radon. (material-properties.org)
  • Bismuth, thorium , uranium and plutonium are primordial radionuclides because they have half-lives long enough to still be found on the Earth. (material-properties.org)
  • The radon-220 isotope, commonly referred to as thoron , is a natural decay product of the most stable thorium isotope ( thorium-232 ), thus it is a member of thorium series . (material-properties.org)
  • Background radioactivity - radioactive elements in the natural environment including those in the crust of the earth (like radioactive potassium, uranium, and thorium isotopes) and those produced by cosmic rays. (cdc.gov)
  • The 231 isotopes are prepared by radiating thorium-230 with slow neutrons , converting to the beta-decaying thorium-231, or by irradiating thorium-232 with fast neutrons, generating two neutrons and thorium-231. (vedantu.com)
  • Thorium is a naturally-occurring, slightly radioactive metal discovered in 1828 by the Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius, who named it after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. (world-nuclear.org)
  • It occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains through which thorium and uranium slowly decay into various short-lived radioactive elements and eventually into stable lead . (knowpia.com)
  • Since thorium and uranium are two of the most common radioactive elements on Earth, while also having three isotopes with half-lives on the order of several billion years, radon will be present on Earth long into the future despite its short half-life. (knowpia.com)
  • Radioactive decay is a random process at the level of single atoms, in that, according to quantum theory, it is impossible to predict when a particular atom will decay. (radiation-dosimetry.org)
  • Radioactive atoms give off one or more of these types of radiation to reach a more stable state. (cdc.gov)
  • These atoms can become radioactive. (cdc.gov)
  • Half-life is the length of time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms of a specific radionuclide to decay. (cdc.gov)
  • If you start with 100 atoms, after one half-life you'll have 50 radioactive atoms. (cdc.gov)
  • After two half-lives, you'll have 25 radioactive atoms. (cdc.gov)
  • And after a third half-life, you'll have 12 radioactive atoms. (cdc.gov)
  • Then 6, then 3, then 1, until eventually, all of the radioactive atoms in that population will reach their more stable state. (cdc.gov)
  • But in the process, several types of radioactive atoms are generated. (cdc.gov)
  • Radioactive decay is a random process at the level of single atoms: it is impossible to predict when one particular atom will decay. (wikipedia.org)
  • The range of the half-lives of radioactive atoms has no known limits and spans a time range of over 55 orders of magnitude. (wikipedia.org)
  • Naturally occurring uranium consists primarily of three isotopes (atoms with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons). (wyo.gov)
  • Number of natural isotopes (atoms of the same element with a different number of neutrons): 1. (livescience.com)
  • Radiation, which is a byproduct of radioactive decay, causes electrons to dislodge from their normal position in atoms and turn into trapped in imperfections in the crystal structure of the fabric. (gicjo.net)
  • The range of the half-lives of radioactive atoms have no known limits and span a time range of over 55 orders of magnitude. (msrblog.com)
  • In which familiar atoms are used as tracers because they are very similar to non-radioactive nuclides. (msrblog.com)
  • Uses of Radionuclide a Radioactive Tracer is a chemical compound in which one or two atoms have been replaced by radioactive isotopes. (msrblog.com)
  • A radiogenic nuclide is a nuclide that is produced by a process of radioactive decay. (wikipedia.org)
  • It may itself be radioactive (a radionuclide) or stable (a stable nuclide). (wikipedia.org)
  • Another notable radiogenic nuclide is argon-40, formed from radioactive potassium. (wikipedia.org)
  • As noted in the case of lead-204, a radiogenic nuclide is often not radioactive. (wikipedia.org)
  • In this case, if its precursor nuclide has a half-life too short to have survived from primordial times, then the parent nuclide will be gone, and known now entirely by a relative excess of its stable daughter. (wikipedia.org)
  • The radiation produced during radioactive decay is such that the daughter nuclide lies closer to the band of stability than the parent nuclide, so the location of a nuclide relative to the band of stability can serve as a guide to the kind of decay it will undergo ( Figure 21.5 ). (openstax.org)
  • Activity - the mean number of decays per unit time of a radioactive nuclide expressed as disintegrations per second. (cdc.gov)
  • Although some physicists sometimes commonly used to designate the palabraradioisótopo however, it should be noted that strict or formal language of physics and nuclear technology is flawed as a nuclide and an isotope are not the same. (msrblog.com)
  • it decays to xenon-129, a stable isotope of xenon which appears in excess relative to other xenon isotopes. (wikipedia.org)
  • Nearly all uranium-238 (nearly 99.8%) decays first to the shorter-lived 234mPa isomer. (vedantu.com)
  • If there are too many or too few neutrons for a given number of protons, the resulting nucleus is not stable and it undergoes radioactive decay. (radiation-dosimetry.org)
  • The most common isotopes in natural uranium are uranium-238 (which has 146 neutrons and accounts for over 99% of uranium on Earth) and uranium-235 (which has 143 neutrons). (wikimili.com)
  • The most abundant uranium isotope is 238 U (which has 146 neutrons and 92 protons in the nucleus), followed by 235 U (which has 143 neutrons and 92 protons in the nucleus) and trace amounts of 234 U (which has 142 neutrons and 92 protons in the nucleus). (wyo.gov)
  • [a] One of its isotopes, 270 Hs, has magic numbers of both protons and neutrons for deformed nuclei, which gives it greater stability against spontaneous fission . (wikipedia.org)
  • Alpha particle ( ionizing radiation ) - two neutrons and two protons bound as a single particle (a helium nucleus) that is emitted from the nucleus of certain radioactive isotopes in the process of disintegration. (cdc.gov)
  • It possesses 39 protons and 51 neutrons, with a half-life of around 64 hours, meaning it remains radioactively potent for a relatively short period. (beatcancer.eu)
  • Most isotopes discovered on Earth are secure, which means they don't change their composition of protons and neutrons regardless of time or environmental conditions. (gicjo.net)
  • Ionizing radiation is emitted by radioactive elements and by equipment such as x-ray and radiation therapy machines. (msdmanuals.com)
  • One of the isotope pairs widely used in geology is the decay of 40K to 40Ar (potassium-40 to argon-40). (gicjo.net)
  • 40K is a radioactive isotope of potassium that's present in very small amounts in all minerals which have potassium in them. (gicjo.net)
  • Moreover, their use generates radioactive waste, which can be very dangerous and for which the only treatment is usually done is cover until its radioactivity is close to the natural. (msrblog.com)
  • High levels of naturally occurring and carcinogenic radium isotopes have been measured in low-saline and oxic groundwater from the Rum Group of the Disi sandstone aquifer in Jordan. (bgu.ac.il)
  • On the basis of the distribution of the four Ra isotopes and the ratios of the short- to long-lived Ra isotopes, we postulate that Ra activity in groundwater is controlled by the balance of radioactive decay of parent Th isotopes on aquifer solids, decay of the dissolved radium isotopes, and adsorption of dissolved Ra on solid surfaces. (bgu.ac.il)
  • Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas , occurring naturally as the decay product of radium. (material-properties.org)
  • Radiogenic nuclides (more commonly referred to as radiogenic isotopes) form some of the most important tools in geology. (wikipedia.org)
  • There are about 730 radionuclides with half-lives longer than 60 minutes (see list of nuclides ). (wikipedia.org)
  • In biology, radionuclides of carbon can serve as radioactive tracers because they are chemically very similar to the nonradioactive nuclides, so most chemical, biological, and ecological processes treat them in a nearly identical way. (msrblog.com)
  • The decay of radon produces many other short-lived nuclides , known as "radon daughters", ending at stable isotopes of lead . (knowpia.com)
  • [18] [19] If fusion does occur, the temporary merger-termed a compound nucleus -is in an excited state . (knowpia.com)
  • Although the radioactive decay of a nucleus is too small to see with the naked eye, we can indirectly view radioactive decay in an environment called a cloud chamber. (openstax.org)
  • Depending on the radionuclide, this process could be fast or take a very long time - radioactive half-lives can range from milliseconds to hours, days, sometimes millions of years. (cdc.gov)
  • During those processes, the radionuclide is said to undergo radioactive decay . (wikipedia.org)
  • Radionuclides occur naturally or are artificially produced in nuclear reactors , cyclotrons , particle accelerators or radionuclide generators . (wikipedia.org)
  • Recall that naturally occurring radionuclides such as uranium or plutonium exist in finite quantities on Earth, so you have to use them in a sustainable manner. (msrblog.com)
  • In these conditions another uranium isotope, 236U, may be present together with very small amounts of the transuranic elements plutonium, americium and neptunium and the fission product technetium-99. (who.int)
  • Radon is entirely radiogenic, since it has too short a half-life to have occurred primordially. (wikipedia.org)
  • It is found in meteorites that condensed from the primordial Solar System dust cloud and trapped primordial iodine-129 (half life 15.7 million years) sometime in a relative short period (probably less than 20 million years) between the iodine-129's creation in a supernova, and the formation of the Solar System by condensation of this dust. (wikipedia.org)
  • For example, technetium-99m, one of the most common medical isotopes used for imaging studies, has a half-life of 6 hours. (cdc.gov)
  • The short half-life of technetium-99m helps keep the dose to the patient low. (cdc.gov)
  • Naturally occurring uranium-238 present in the Earth's crust has a half-life of almost 4.5 billion years. (cdc.gov)
  • The half-life of this decay varies between 159,200 and 4.5 billion years for different isotopes , making them useful for dating the age of the Earth . (wikimili.com)
  • The rate of decay is known as the radioactive half-life. (wyo.gov)
  • 235 U has a half-life of 703 million years, while 234 U has an even shorter half-life of 245,300 years. (wyo.gov)
  • It is also the longest lived radioactive isotope of chlorine with a half life of 301,000 years. (wanttoknowit.com)
  • The most stable known isotope , copernicium-285, has a half-life of approximately 30 seconds. (knowpia.com)
  • The most stable isotope, Ac-227, has a half-life of 217 years. (ontologyportal.org)
  • Ac-228 (half-life of 6.13 hours) also occurs in nature. (ontologyportal.org)
  • Am-243 is the most stable isotope, with a half-life of 7.95*10^3 years. (ontologyportal.org)
  • Eight known isotopes, the most common Bk-247, has a half-life of 1.4*10^3 years. (ontologyportal.org)
  • While the average rate of production of radon-220 (thoron) is about the same as that of radon-222, the amount of radon-220 in the environment is much less than that of radon-222 because of significantly shorter half-life (it has less time to diffuse) of radon-222 (55 seconds, versus 3.8 days respectively). (material-properties.org)
  • Due to its high energy level and short half-life, Y-90 can deliver a potent dose of radiation to a targeted area, aiding in selective destruction of tumorous cells. (beatcancer.eu)
  • Y-90 doesn't occur naturally due to its relatively short half-life. (beatcancer.eu)
  • Half-life estimation can also be influenced by ongoing exposure, which could contribute to explaining the different half-lives reported in different studies. (web.app)
  • Nearly all naturally occurring protactinium is 231 Pa with a half-life of 32,700 years. (web.app)
  • It was discovered in 1913 by Kazimierz Fajans and Oswald Helmuth Göhring, who named it brevium for its short half-life. (web.app)
  • Tot Argon-37, a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 35 days, which would be trapped Time (Halfe-‐Lives). (web.app)
  • This metal contains up to 5 isotopes with their mass numbers ranging between 212 to 238, and protactinium 231 can be considered to be the most stable isotope containing a half-life of about 32,760 years. (vedantu.com)
  • Its most stable isotope , 222 Rn , has a half-life of only 3.8 days, making it one of the rarest elements. (knowpia.com)
  • Web 282.00 g.mol -1 (most stable isotope) Electronegativity according to Pauling Occurrence Roentgenium does not occur in nature. (chemistry-info.com)
  • An official of the Nuclear Regulation Authority said groundwater containing radioactive substances may be seeping into the harbor from the plant site and there is a need to carry out a careful investigation because the data collected so far are limited. (abovetopsecret.com)
  • During the beginning of the twentieth century, many radioactive substances were discovered, the properties of radiation were investigated and quantified, and a solid understanding of radiation and nuclear decay was developed. (openstax.org)
  • Nuclear Medicine is a medical specialty that uses radioactive substances to deal with diseases. (msrblog.com)
  • We classify different types of radioactive decay by the radiation produced. (openstax.org)
  • Although a different isotope of radon is formed in each of the radioactive-decay series, only 222Rn has a sufficiently long half-live (3.8 d) that it often occurs at elevated concentrations in indoor air. (aarst.org)
  • The 222Rn isotope, commonly and here referred to as radon, and its decay products have been linked by epidemiological studies to an increased risk of lung cancer, causing approximately 21,000 lung-cancer deaths (Lubin, 1997) annually in the United States (US). (aarst.org)
  • A majority of radon entry into a house occurs at the soil-foundation interface, with minor contributions from groundwater use, building materials, and outdoor air. (aarst.org)
  • Samples of the cat litters, with weighs of 143-734 g, were individually sealed inside a 55-L airtight chamber to allow the emanating radon to ingrow to radioactive equilibrium in the enclosed air. (aarst.org)
  • The PRD is an alpha-scintillation counter with a background of 1.1 cpm and a high detection efficiency (1.2 cpm per pCi/L) for radon and its short-lived alpha-emitting progeny. (aarst.org)
  • All isotopes of radon are radioactive , but the two radon isotopes radon-222 and radon-220 are very important from radiation protection point of view. (material-properties.org)
  • The radon-222 isotope is a natural decay product of the most stable uranium isotope (uranium-238), thus it is a member of uranium series . (material-properties.org)
  • When radon disintegrates, the daughter metallic isotopes are ions that will be attached to other molecules like water and to aerosol particles in the air. (material-properties.org)
  • Radon can also occur in some ground water like spring waters and hot springs. (knowpia.com)
  • Most of those are only produced artificially, and have very short half-lives. (wikipedia.org)
  • noun] a short-lived radioactive element produced artificially - see Chemical Elements Table. (chemistry-info.com)
  • In practice, this occurs for all radionuclides with half lives less than about 50 to 100 million years. (wikipedia.org)
  • Uranium-235 is the only naturally occurring fissile isotope , which makes it widely used in nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons . (wikimili.com)
  • However, because of the extreme scarcity of concentrations of uranium-235 in naturally occurring uranium (which is, overwhelmingly, mostly uranium-238), uranium needs to undergo enrichment so that enough uranium-235 is present. (wikimili.com)
  • This isotope is formed by the decay of the element uranium 235 by emitting gamma radiation. (vedantu.com)
  • The latest announcement was made after Tepco detected high levels of radioactive tritium and strontium in groundwater from an observation well at the plant. (abovetopsecret.com)
  • While the USA had stopped producing tritium by about 1988 due to safety reasons and ageing facilities, the Indian breakthrough underscores the fact that tritium can now be produced at a fraction of the estimated US$ 7 billion needed to produce the isotope at current costs using the accelerator process, as was done in the USA. (ccnr.org)
  • When asked what is exactly being done to the highly radioactive tritium so recovered, the scientists refuse to talk - even under conditions of anonymity. (ccnr.org)
  • For radiogenic isotopes that decay slowly enough, or that are stable isotopes, a primordial fraction is always present, since all sufficiently long-lived and stable isotopes do in fact naturally occur primordially. (wikipedia.org)
  • The protactinium metal is a radioactive, silvery, and shiny metal that slowly degrades in the presence of air to produce oxides. (vedantu.com)
  • Uranium has the highest atomic weight of the primordially occurring elements. (wikimili.com)
  • Actinides - radioactive elements with atomic numbers equal to or greater than that of actinium (i.e., 88). (cdc.gov)
  • However, the energy of beta emissions can sometimes result in dangerous radiotoxicity if the isotope isn't properly targeted. (beatcancer.eu)
  • Its use implies serious environmental risks (radioactive contamination) and health (radiotoxicity, radiation poisoning, etc.), so it must be done with extreme care. (msrblog.com)
  • Protactinium is described as one of the most expensive and rarest naturally occurring elements. (vedantu.com)
  • Protactinium is well known to be one of the rarest and most expensive naturally occurring elements on Earth. (vedantu.com)
  • Helium, however, occurs in the crust of the Earth primordially, since both helium-3 and helium-4 are stable, and small amounts were trapped in the crust of the Earth as it formed. (wikipedia.org)
  • It occurs in trace amounts nearly everywhere on the planet, even in seawater. (wyo.gov)
  • Large amounts of this isotope were also produced by nuclear weapons testing in the 1950′s! (wanttoknowit.com)
  • Silvery radioactive metallic element, belongs to group 3 of the periodic table. (ontologyportal.org)
  • It may also be produced through the decay of Strontium-90, a radioactive isotope used widely in medical and industrial applications. (beatcancer.eu)
  • A few others are naturally produced by nucleogenic processes (natural nuclear reactions of other types, such as neutron absorption). (wikipedia.org)
  • Because most of the natural radioactive isotopes are heavy, more than one disintegration is necessary before a stable atom is reached. (material-properties.org)
  • Manganese is very abundant in soils, occurring in both oxides and hydroxides, according to Lenntech . (livescience.com)
  • Introduction Radioisotopes of the three naturally occurring radioactive-decay series, headed by 232Th, 235 U, and 238U, are ubiquitous in soils. (aarst.org)
  • Uranium is a naturally occurring, ubiquitous, heavy metal found in various chemical forms in all soils, rocks, seas and oceans. (who.int)
  • Radioactive decay is the process in which a radioactive atom spontaneously gives off radiation in the form of energy or particles to reach a more stable state. (cdc.gov)
  • An imaging tracer made with radionuclides is called a radioactive tracer . (wikipedia.org)
  • Its known isotopes are extremely radioactive , and have only been created in a laboratory. (knowpia.com)
  • It is an extremely radioactive synthetic element that can be created in a laboratory but is not found in nature. (chemistry-info.com)
  • Neodymium is not found naturally in metallic form or unmixed with other lanthanides, and it is usually refined for general use. (wikipedia.org)
  • Radioactive metallic transuranic element, belongs to the actinoids. (ontologyportal.org)
  • Radioactive metallic transuranic element. (ontologyportal.org)
  • Today, its slow radioactive decay provides the main source of heat inside the earth's crust. (wyo.gov)
  • With the longest half lives are the 32 primordial radionuclides that have survived from the creation of the Solar System. (msrblog.com)
  • Secular equilibrium for the 238U and 232Th radioactive-decay series was evident. (aarst.org)
  • Some naturally occurring isotopes are entirely radiogenic, but all those are radioactive isotopes, with half-lives too short to have occurred primordially and still exist today. (wikipedia.org)
  • On Earth, naturally occurring radionuclides fall into three categories: primordial radionuclides, secondary radionuclides, and cosmogenic radionuclides. (wikipedia.org)
  • Because 234 U and 235 U have relatively short half-lives, the relative abundance of these isotopes has decreased compared to 238 U since the formation of the Earth. (wyo.gov)
  • 35 Cl makes up about 76% of all the naturally occurring chlorine found on Earth. (wanttoknowit.com)
  • When the Earth was formed, a number of radioactive elements were formed. (material-properties.org)
  • Yttrium-90 (Y-90) is a radioactive isotope of Yttrium, a rare earth element. (beatcancer.eu)
  • None of them occur in the Earth 's crust naturally (that anyone knows of). (encyclopedia.com)
  • Manganese is primarily found in the bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center , and helps the body form connective tissue, bones, blood-clotting factors, and sex hormones. (livescience.com)
  • These workshops are a regular occurrence here and broach topics like isotope analysis, well testing techniques, and the best ways to navigate the political machinations between oversight organizations. (motherjones.com)
  • about 66% is found in the skeleton, 16% in the liver, 8% in the kidneys and 10% in other tissues. (who.int)
  • After 24 h, 192Ir fractions in the range between 0.001 and 0.01 were found in liver, spleen, kidneys, heart, and brain, and an even higher fraction (between 0.01 and 0.05) in the remaining carcass consisting of soft tissue and bone. (cdc.gov)
  • In theory, elements heavier than dysprosium exist only as radionuclides, but some such elements, like gold and platinum , are observationally stable and their half-lives have not been determined). (wikipedia.org)
  • Actinide elements are all radioactive. (cdc.gov)
  • The term background is also sometimes used in this report to indicate radioactive elements present in the environment that are not a direct result of SRS activities (e.g. atmospheric weapons testing fallout, see definition for fallout ). (cdc.gov)
  • In comparison with the quantity of a non-radiogenic isotope of the same element, the quantity of the radiogenic isotope is used to define its isotopic signature (e.g. 206Pb/204Pb). (wikipedia.org)
  • In the periodic table, it appears between the lanthanides praseodymium to its left and the radioactive element promethium to its right, and above the actinide uranium. (wikipedia.org)
  • Radioactive halogen element. (ontologyportal.org)
  • Yttrium-90 (Y-90) is a radioactive isotope of the element Yttrium, used in medical applications such as radiation therapy for treating certain types of cancer. (beatcancer.eu)
  • Web Aug 9, 2023 · Roentgenium is a radioactive synthetic element. (chemistry-info.com)
  • The global supply of helium (which occurs in gas wells as well as the atmosphere) is mainly (about 90%-99%) radiogenic, as shown by its factor of 10 to 100 times enrichment in radiogenic helium-4 relative to the primordial ratio of helium-4 to helium-3. (wikipedia.org)
  • Primordial radionuclides are residues from the Big Bang, from cosmogenic sources, and from ancient supernova explosions which occurred before the formation of the solar system. (material-properties.org)
  • Nuclear chemistry is a fascinating realm of science that continues to revolutionize our daily lives. (beatcancer.eu)
  • Because the radioactive decay occurs at a identified price, the density of fission tracks for the quantity of uranium inside a mineral grain can be utilized to find out its age. (gicjo.net)
  • After the four billion years, all the shorter-lived isotopes have decayed. (material-properties.org)
  • But some of these isotopes have very long half-lives, billions of years, and are still present. (material-properties.org)
  • The zircon formation may have occurred tens to lots of of 1000's of years earlier than the eruption and deposition. (gicjo.net)
  • I still need to earn a living and I can't spend years of my life on this thing. (shamusyoung.com)