rubidium-strontium dating

American  

[roo-bid-ee-uhm-stron-shee-uhm, -shuhm, -tee-uhm] / ruˈbɪd i əmˈstrɒn ʃi əm, -ʃəm, -ti əm /

noun

Geology.

1. a radiometric dating method whereby the ratio of rubidium isotope to strontium in a mineral is used to calculate the age of the mineral, based on the rate of radioactive decay of rubidium to strontium.

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rubidium-strontium dating British  

noun

1. a technique for determining the age of minerals based on the occurrence in natural rubidium of a fixed amount of the radioisotope ⁸⁷ Rb which decays to the stable strontium isotope ⁸⁷ Sr with a half-life of 4.7 × 10 ¹¹ years. Measurement of the ratio of these isotopes thus gives the age of a mineral, for ages of up to about 4 × 10 ⁹ years

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Etymology

Origin of rubidium-strontium dating

First recorded in 1965–70