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Concept

Potassium–argon dating

A glowing volcanic rock with a circular structure around it symbolizes the concept of potassium–argon dating, a radiometric dating method used to measure the age of rocks by analyzing the ratio of potassium-40 to argon-40.

A radiometric dating method that measures the ratio of potassium-40 to its decay product argon-40 in volcanic minerals. Because argon is a gas that escapes molten rock, the clock resets every time a mineral melts; the trapped argon since then tells you when it last cooled. Refined in the 1950s, the technique put the first absolute dates on hominin sites in East Africa, including the tool-bearing layers at Olduvai Gorge.

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