Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Simulation of the Planetary Interior Differentiation Processes in the Laboratory
Published on: November 15, 2013
Hf-W Isotopic Evidence for Rapid Accretion and Differentiation in the Early Solar System
1Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1063 USA.
Abstract:
The time scales over which inner solar system objects accreted and differentiated are unclear because the isotopic systems of many meteorites are disturbed. 182Hf decays to 182W with a half-life of 9 million years and is a particularly useful chronometer because both elements are highly refractory and immobile. Tungsten isotopic data for IIA, IIIA, IVA, and anomalous iron meteorites and H, L, and LL chondrites indicate that their parent bodies accreted rapidly and segregated metal within just a few million years.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Speciation Rates
Conditions on Early Earth
What is Evolutionary History?
The Fossil Record
Conditions on Early Earth
High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS)

