rubidium-strontium dating

[ roo-bid-ee-uhm-stron-shee-uhm, -shuhm, -tee-uhm ]

noun

, Geology.

1. a radiometric dating method whereby the ratio of rubidium isotope to strontium in a mineral is used to calculate the age of the mineral, based on the rate of radioactive decay of rubidium to strontium.

rubidium-strontium dating

noun

1. a technique for determining the age of minerals based on the occurrence in natural rubidium of a fixed amount of the radioisotope ⁸⁷Rb which decays to the stable strontium isotope ⁸⁷Sr with a half-life of 4.7 × 10 ¹¹years. Measurement of the ratio of these isotopes thus gives the age of a mineral, for ages of up to about 4 × 10 ⁹years

Word History and Origins

Origin of rubidium-strontium dating¹

First recorded in 1965–70