Krjogja.com – AMERICA – Earth is said to have an age of approximately 4.54 billion years. During those times, continents formed and disappeared, ice sheets were created and disappeared, and organisms evolved.
However, is it true that the earth is billions of years old? How do we calculate the age of the Earth? Here’s an explanation quoted from Live Science.
According to University of Colorado Boulder geologist Becky Flowers, the age of the earth can be determined from the age of a rock or mineral.
“When you’re an Earth scientist looking at a rock, it’s not just a rock; it’s like the rock has a story you can try to untangle,” says Flowers.
Usually, scientists give the age of a planet or rock using radiometric methods.
The radiometric method is a dating method utilizing radioactive elements present in minerals.
Like uranium-238 in magma or lava. When magmas form, they contain uranium-238. This element will then emit radiation so that it becomes a more stable element, but remains in the mineral category.
The half-life of uranium-238 is over 4 billion years. This means it takes more than 4 billion years for half of uranium-238 to become lead or tin.
The length of the half-life of a mineral or rock is an indicator of their age. This is how the radiometric dating method works.
Using this method, geologists have found minerals on Earth that are 4.4 billion years old, meaning the planet has been around for at least that long.
