Definition

Noun: A method of determining the age of rocks and minerals by measuring the ratio of radioactive rubidium-87 to its stable decay product, strontium-87. This technique is used for dating very old geological materials due to the extremely long half-life of rubidium-87.

Usage

This term is used specifically in the fields of geology, geochronology, and planetary science to describe an absolute dating technique. - Rubidium-strontium dating was crucial for establishing the Precambrian time scale. - The age of the lunar rock samples was confirmed using rubidium-strontium dating.

Advanced Usage

• "to apply rubidium-strontium dating": To use this specific method on a sample.
  • Researchers applied rubidium-strontium dating to the ancient gneiss.
• "rubidium-strontium dating method/technique/system": Phrases specifying the methodology.
  • The rubidium-strontium dating technique relies on precise isotopic measurements.

Variants and Related Words

• Isochron dating: A related graphical technique often used in conjunction with rubidium-strontium dating to improve accuracy.
• Radiometric dating: The broader category of dating methods that includes rubidium-strontium dating.
• Rb-Sr dating: A common abbreviation for rubidium-strontium dating.

Synonyms

• Rb-Sr geochronology
• Rubidium-strontium geochronology

Related Phrases

• "closure temperature": In rubidium-strontium dating, this refers to the temperature below which the system becomes closed and the radiometric "clock" starts.
  • Accurate rubidium-strontium dating requires knowledge of the mineral's closure temperature.
• "initial strontium ratio": A key parameter calculated in the rubidium-strontium dating isochron method.
  • The isochron plot is used to determine both the age and the initial strontium ratio.

Noun

1. geological dating based on the proportions of radioactive rubidium into its decay product strontium; radioactive rubidium has a half-life of 47,000,000,000 years