Dating forum questions

With sensitive instrumentation, this range can be extended to 70,000 years.In addition to the radiocarbon dating technique, scientists have developed other dating methods based on the transformation of one element into another.Radioactive decay: The predictable manner in which a population of atoms of a radioactive element spontaneously disintegrate over time.Stratigraphy: Study of layers of rocks or the objects embedded within those layers.Absolute dates must agree with dates from other relative methods in order to be valid.

Carbon-14, a radioactive form of the element carbon, is created in the atmosphere by cosmic rays (invisible, high-energy particles that constantly bombard Earth from all directions in space).These include the uranium-thorium method, the potassium-argon method, and the rubidium-strontium method. Thermoluminescence (pronounced ther-moeloo-mi-NES-ence) dating is very useful for determining the age of pottery.When a piece of pottery is heated in a laboratory at temperatures more than 930°F (500°C), electrons from quartz and other minerals in the pottery clay emit light.After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.Brevard County, Fort Lauderdale area, Fort Myers - Cape Coral area, Jacksonville, Miami, Naples, Ocala, Orlando, Pensacola, Port St.