Bertram Boltwood
Encyclopedia
Bertram Borden Boltwood was an American pioneer of radiochemistry
.
He graduated from Yale University
, and taught there 1897-1900. He established that lead was the final decay product of uranium, noted that the lead-uranium ratio was greater in older rocks and, acting on a suggestion by Ernest Rutherford
, was the first to measure the age of rocks by the decay of uranium to lead
, in 1907. He got results of ages of 400 to 2200 million years, the first success of radiometric dating
. More recently, older mineral deposits have been dated to about 4.4 billion years old, close to the best estimate of the age of earth.
Boltwoodite
is named after him.
In his later days, Boltwood suffered from depression and committed suicide on August 15, 1927.
Radiochemistry
Radiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes...
.
He graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, and taught there 1897-1900. He established that lead was the final decay product of uranium, noted that the lead-uranium ratio was greater in older rocks and, acting on a suggestion by Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM, FRS was a New Zealand-born British chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics...
, was the first to measure the age of rocks by the decay of uranium to lead
Uranium-lead dating
Uranium-lead is one of the oldest and most refined of the radiometric dating schemes, with a routine age range of about 1 million years to over 4.5 billion years, and with routine precisions in the 0.1-1 percent range...
, in 1907. He got results of ages of 400 to 2200 million years, the first success of radiometric dating
Radiometric dating
Radiometric dating is a technique used to date materials such as rocks, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products, using known decay rates...
. More recently, older mineral deposits have been dated to about 4.4 billion years old, close to the best estimate of the age of earth.
Boltwoodite
Boltwoodite
Boltwoodite is a hydrated potassium uranyl silicate mineral with formula HK·1.5. It is formed from the oxidation and alteration of primary uranium ores. It takes the form of a crust on some sandstones that bear uranium...
is named after him.
In his later days, Boltwood suffered from depression and committed suicide on August 15, 1927.