It is an accurate way to date specific geologic events. This is an enormous branch of geochemistry called Geochronology. There are many radiometric clocks and when applied to appropriate materials, the dating can be very accurate. As one example, the first minerals to crystallize condense from the hot cloud of gasses that surrounded the Sun as it first became a star have been dated to plus or minus 2 million years!! That is pretty accurate!!!
Carbon dating
Everything Worth Knowing About Scientific Dating Methods | 1000canaries.com
In January of , we took C dating, as the others have noted, is only good for about 50, years or so. This makes it great for archaeology - at least, up to 50, years ago - but not so much for much else. Uranium dating uranium-lead is good for the entire history of the Earth since U the parent has a half-life of 4. Since the universe is a bit less than 14 billion years old, U-Pb can be used to date anything in the universe. What it looks at is the ratio of thorium the progeny to uranium the parent.
Everything Worth Knowing About ... Scientific Dating Methods
At a very steady rate, unstable carbon gradually decays to carbon This isotope lets scientists learn the ages of once-living things. Radiocarbon dating is a technique used by scientists to learn the ages of biological specimens — for example, wooden archaeological artifacts or ancient human remains — from the distant past. It can be used on objects as old as about 62, years. An isotope is what scientists call two or more forms of the same element.
July 10, Geologists do not use carbon-based radiometric dating to determine the age of rocks. Carbon dating only works for objects that are younger than about 50, years, and most rocks of interest are older than that.