Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Separation of Uranium and Thorium for 230Th-U Dating of Submarine Hydrothermal Sulfides
Published on: May 20, 2019
Age of the moon: an isotopic study of uranium-thorium-lead systematics of lunar samples
Abstract:
Concentrations of U, Th, and Pb in Apollo 11 samples studied are low (U. 0.16 to 0.87; Th, 0.53 to 3.4; Pb, 0.29 to 1.7, in ppm) but the extremely radiogenic lead in samples allows radiometric dating. The fine dust and the breccia have a concordant age of 4.66 billion years on the basis of (207)Pb/(206)Pb, (206)Pb/(238)U, (207)Pb/(235U), and(208)Pb/(232)Th ratios. This age is comparable with the age of meteorites and with the age generally accepted for the earth. Six crystalline and vesicular samples are distinctly younger than the dust and breccia. The (238)U/(235)U ratio is the same as that in earth rocks, and (234)U is in radioactive equilibrium with parent (238)U.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Radioactive Decay and Radiometric Dating
Simple Harmonic Motion and Uniform Circular Motion
There is an easy way to produce simple harmonic motion by using uniform circular motion. For instance, consider a ball attached to a uniformly rotating...
Gravitation
Gravity between Spherical Bodies
This assumption can be proved easily by showing that the expression for gravitational potential energy between a hollow sphere of mass (M) and a point mass (m) is the same as it would be for a pair of extended...
Nuclear Transmutation
Nuclear Stability
To hold positively charged protons together in the...

