Nature's Clocks: How Scientists Measure the Age of Almost Everything PDF
Preview Nature's Clocks: How Scientists Measure the Age of Almost Everything
Nature’s Clocks The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution to this book provided by the General Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Foundation. Nature’s Clocks How Scientists Measure the Age of Almost Everything Doug Macdougall UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley Los Angeles London University of California Press, one of the most distinguished uni- versity presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2008 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Macdougall, J.D., 1944– Nature’s clocks : how scientists measure the age of almost everything / Doug Macdougall. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn:978-0-520-24975-2 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Geochronometry. 2. Geological time. 3. Radioisotopes in geology. I. Title. qe508. m27 2008 551.7'01—dc22 2007046955 Manufactured in the United States of America 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on New Leaf EcoBook 50, a 100% recycled fiber of which 50% is de-inked post-consumer waste, processed chlorine-free. EcoBook 50 is acid-free and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/astm d5634–01 (Permanence of Paper). For Gustaf Arrhenius, Harmon Craig, Devendra Lal, andHenry Schwarcz, great teachers all, who kindled myinterest in isotopes and geochemistry CONTENTS List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Chapter 1. No Vestige of a Beginning... 1 Chapter 2. Mysterious Rays 21 Chapter 3. Wild Bill’s Quest 45 Chapter 4. Changing Perceptions 72 Chapter 5. Getting the Lead Out 101 Chapter 6. Dating the Boundaries 131 Chapter 7. Clocking Evolution 159 Chapter 8. Ghostly Forests and Mediterranean Volcanoes 190 Chapter 9. More and More from Less and Less 219 Appendix A. The Geological Time Scale 239 Appendix B. Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements 241 Appendix C. Additional Notes 245 Glossary 251 Resources and Further Reading 257 Index 265 ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURES 1. Oetzi, the Alpine Iceman 2 2. Sketch of a Rock Outcropping at Jedburgh, Scotland 10 3. The First X-ray Picture 26 4. Willard Libby and Ernie Anderson in Their Laboratory 54 5. The Radioactive Decay of Carbon-14 56 6. Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Egypt 61 7. Arnold and Libby’s “Curve of Knowns” 66 8. The “Colossal Ghost,” a Dead Bristlecone Pine 83 9. Suess Wiggles in the Radiocarbon Calibration Curve 85 10. Cross-Section at Two Creeks, Wisconsin 93 11. Radiocarbon Dates for North American Archaeological Sites 96 12. Patterson’s Age of the Earth Graph 114 13. A Fragment of the Allende Meteorite 120 14. Zircon Crystals 125 ix
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