The Age of the Earth / G. Brent Dalrymple.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dalrymple, G. Brent, Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (492 p.) : illus

Place of Publication:

Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press, [2022]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

This is a definitive, masterly history and synthesis of all that has been said (by theologians and scientists) and is known (to science) about the question, How old is the Earth? It explains in a simple and straightforward way the evidence and logic that have led scientists to conclude that the Earth and the other parts of the Solar System are not several thousand years old, as some today would have it, but four and one-half billion years old. It is a fascinating story, but not so simple as single measurement. Our universe is a large, old, and complicated place. Earth and other bodies have endured a long and sometimes violent history, the events of which have frequently obscured the record that we seek to decipher. Although in detail the journey into Earth's past requires considerable scientific skill, knowledge, and imagination, the story is not so complicated that it cannot be explained to someone who wants to know and understand the basic evidence. This book, then, has been written for people with some modest background in science, but at a level that will allow the material to be useful and accessible to those without a deep knowledge of geology or physics or mathematics.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Preface

Contents

The Age of the Earth

1. Introduction

2. Early Attempts: A Variety of Approaches

3. Modern Radiometric Methods: How They Work

4. Earth's Oldest Rocks: The Direct Evidence

5. Moon Rocks: Samples from a Sister Planet

6. Meteorites: Visitors from Space

7. Isotopes of Lead: The Hourglass of the Solar System

8. The Universe and the Elements: Indirect Evidence

9. What We Know and Do Not Know

References Cited

Glossary

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 31. Jan 2022)

ISBN:

1-5036-2159-6

OCLC:

1294423330