Radiometric dating estimates elapsed time from changes in radionuclide populations, using a known nuclear decay constant and assumptions about the initial composition and subsequent closure to matter exchange.
Radiometric dating is a technique used to date materials such as rocks or carbon by measuring the abundance of specific radioactive isotopes within the sample. This method relies on the principle of radioactive decay, where unstable isotopes (parent isotopes) transform into stable isotopes (daughter isotopes) over time at a known rate, characterized by their half-lives. For example, in carbon dating, carbon-14 (a radioactive isotope of carbon) decays into nitrogen-14 over time.
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