Keywords
CAI, chondrules, chronology, iron meteorites, meteorites, radioisotope, solar system
Overview
Historical
The knowledge of the age of the Earth and of the solar system has always been a fundamental question not only for scientists but also in most human cultures. The possibility of finding a solution to this question emerged in the beginning of the twentieth century with the discovery of radioactivity. The probability of transformation (the decay) of a radioactive nuclide (the parent) into a stable nuclide (the daughter) is constant, so that the ratio between a quantity of the parent and that of the daughter is only a function of time. Temperatures or pressures that are reached during geological or planetary processes (including formation processes) can alter this natural clock. Since all rocks contain traces of natural radioactive elements, the age of...
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References and Further Reading
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Robert, F. (2011). Solar System Formation (Chronology). In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_1797
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_1797
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