by defining the age of rocks
4.543 billion years. The best estimate for Earth's age is based on radiometric dating of fragments from the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite. From the fragments, scientists calculated the relative abundances of elements that formed as radioactive uranium decayed over billions of years
The age of the Earth has been determined through radiometric age dating. Small crystals of a mineral called Zircon have been dated to about 4.4 billion years old.
They use radioactive dating methods. The basic idea is that the concentration of radioactive isotopes decreases over time. At the same time, the concentration of the daughter products increases.
The solar system (and the earth itself) is believed to be around 4.6 billion years old (plus or minus 5 percent) based on radioactive dating of meteorites and rocks found on earth. This ignores problems such as Mercury's magnetic field which might call that date into question.
Carbon-dating can not be used to prove the age of the earth, so it can not be used either to prove a "young earth" nor to support the scientific age of the earth. Carbon-dating is useful for archaeology, where it can date evidence of human artefacts up to fifty thousand years old. Some less less informed "Young Earth" creationists do believe that carbon-dating was used to date the earth. They attempt, unsuccessfully, to undermine the science of carbon-dating in the belief that by doing so they undermine the scientific age of the earth, rather than because they constructively prove their point. The best estimates of the age of the earth have been arrived at by radioactive dating, but not by carbon-dating. Had techniques of radioactive dating not been invented, other known methods of dating the earth would prove that the world is more than a few million years old. Some of these are described in the related question, attached below.
by defining the age of rocks
4.543 billion years. The best estimate for Earth's age is based on radiometric dating of fragments from the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite. From the fragments, scientists calculated the relative abundances of elements that formed as radioactive uranium decayed over billions of years
4.543 billion years. The best estimate for Earth's age is based on radiometric dating of fragments from the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite. From the fragments, scientists calculated the relative abundances of elements that formed as radioactive uranium decayed over billions of years
About 4.5 billion years old - calculated by the radioactive dating of the oldest rocks found AND the dating of even older meteorites.
Radioactive dating estimate the age of rocks.
The best estimate for Earth's age is based on radiometric dating of fragments from the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite. From the fragments, scientists calculated the relative abundances of elements that formed as radioactive uranium decayed over billions of years.
Among other things, rocks have been found that are over 4 billion years old. The age of such rocks is determined by radioactive dating. Note that this is not "a" method, but perhaps 40 different methods (depending on the isotopes involved), which complement one another.The exact age of the Earth is harder to determine exactly; but basically, it must be at least as old as the oldest rocks found.
4.6 billion years
The age of the Earth has been determined through radiometric age dating. Small crystals of a mineral called Zircon have been dated to about 4.4 billion years old.
By carbon dating minerals, fossils or objects, in the earth.
They use radioactive dating methods. The basic idea is that the concentration of radioactive isotopes decreases over time. At the same time, the concentration of the daughter products increases.
scientists believe it.