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Radioisotopes and the Age of The Earth
October 22, 2016 @ 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
9:00 am RATE (Radioisotopes and the Age of The Earth)
10:45: Helium in zircons
Radioactive crystals make and lose Helium These radioactive crystals, called zircons, are common in granitic rock. As a zircon crystal grows in cooling magma, it incorporates Uranium and Thorium atoms from the magma into its crystal lattice. The Uranium and Thorium atoms inside a zircon decay through a series of intermediate elements to eventually become atoms of Lead. Thus a Uranium 238 atom produces eight Helium atoms as it becomes a Lead 206 atom.
Presenter: Russ Humphreys, PhD
