It readily substitutes for potassium in minerals, and is therefore fairly widespread. Rb has been used extensively in dating rocks; 87Rb decays to stable strontium-87 by emission of a negative beta particle, i.e. an electron ejected from the nucleus.

What element does rubidium-87 decay into?

strontium-87 The radioactive decay of rubidium-87 (87Rb) to strontium-87 (87Sr) was the first widely used dating system that utilized the isochron method. Rubidium is a relatively abundant trace element in Earths crust and can be found in many common rock-forming minerals in which it substitutes for the major element potassium.

How can rubidium be used to date minerals?

The rubidium-strontium dating method is a radiometric dating technique used by scientists to determine the age of rocks and minerals from the quantities they contain of specific isotopes of rubidium (87Rb) and strontium (87Sr, 86Sr). As a result, Rb is enriched in crustal rocks.

How does rubidium-strontium dating work?

Rubidium-strontium dating, method of estimating the age of rocks, minerals, and meteorites from measurements of the amount of the stable isotope strontium-87 formed by the decay of the unstable isotope rubidium-87 that was present in the rock at the time of its formation.

How many years would it take half of the rubidium?

RADIOMETRIC TIME SCALEParent IsotopeStable Daughter ProductCurrently Accepted Half-Life ValuesThorium-232Lead-20814.0 billion yearsRubidium-87Strontium-8748.8 billion yearsPotassium-40Argon-401.25 billion yearsSamarium-147Neodymium-143106 billion years2 more rows•Jun 13, 2001

What is alpha decay example?

Alpha decay. An example of this decay occurs in the uranium-238 nucleus that decays into thorium-234 nucleus. Alpha particle has a relatively large mass, positive electric charge, and poor radiation penetration, and it can be stopped by a paper sheet (Ilem-Ozdemir and Asikoglu, 2012).