Physical Review · 1941 · 146 citations · 6 references
Natural SciencesEarth SciencesGeologyAnalytical ChemistryElemental AnalysisGeochemistryAnalytical GeochemistryGeoarchaeological DatingIsotope GeochemistryRadiochemical AnalysisStable Isotope AnalysisTrace Element GeochemistryElemental AbundancesGeological Sample AnalysisIsotope-based Age EstimationIsotopic AbundancesIsotopic DatingLead Isotope AnalysisRadiogenic IsotopesUranium-thorium Dating
A mass spectrographic measurement of the relative abundances of the isotopes in eight samples of radiogenic lead and thirteen samples of common lead has been made. As five of the radiogenic lead samples originated from minerals containing both uranium and thorium, three independent determinations of the age could be made. One of the samples was the oldest so far studied and appears to have an age close to two billion years. The common lead samples were found to have large variations in the relative abundances of the same sort as were reported in a previous investigation of twelve other samples.
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