Determining Age of Earth with Superparamagnetism

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In summary: Thanks for your reply Exactly. It may also be mentioned that the paleo magnetic orientation of the Earth magnetic field is fixated in the volcanic strata and can be used for a continuous dating scale. See for instance this graph:In summary, the age of the Earth can be inferred from the magnetic field.
  • #1
fefe80
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Hi

I want ask how to know the age of Earth with superparamagnetism ( magnetic rock) ?

Thanks
 
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  • #2
I think you will need to elaborate. i think what you might be confused with is oceanic spreading rates (the rate at which the spreading ridges form new oceanic crust). As these rocks cool down below the curie temperature, Earth's magnetic field will have an affect on mineral alignment, recording which way Earth's magnetic field was at the time the rock cooled.
As an aside, Earth's magnetic field is caused from the rotation of the hot metallic solid core; Earth has not always had this.
 
  • #3
Thanks for your reply



I hope I get more information about this topic



Regards
 
  • #4
The Earth's core has always been rotating to a degree, but the magnetic field it generates is not stable. That is why it has reversed thousands of times over the history of the Earth. When an igneous rock cools it will lock in the existing magnetic field when it cools down below roughly 1,200 F. One of the main sources of evidence for plate tectonics was the record of magnetic reversals shown by ships dragging magnetometers behind them on cross Atlantic and other ocean cruises. Especially across the Atlantic you could see a mirror effect depending on how far you were away from the mid Atlantic ridge.
 
  • #5
Thanks Mr.Subductonzon for your reply
 
  • #6
fefe80 said:
Hi

I want ask how to know the age of Earth with superparamagnetism ( magnetic rock) ?

Thanks

The age of the Earth is known from radiometric dating. We cannot determine the age of the Earth from magnetic studies of rocks.
 
  • #7
billiards said:
The age of the Earth is known from radiometric dating. We cannot determine the age of the Earth from magnetic studies of rocks.
Yes and no. Magnetic studies certainly can yield a lower bound on the Earth's age.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/56925/title/Geophysicists_push_age_of_Earths_magnetic_field_back_250_million_years
 
  • #8
D H said:
Yes and no. Magnetic studies certainly can yield a lower bound on the Earth's age.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/56925/title/Geophysicists_push_age_of_Earths_magnetic_field_back_250_million_years

Well no, really. You cannot independently determine the age of a rock based on magnetic data. In the study you referred they measured the magnetic signature on a rock that they already knew was more than 3 billion years old -- which they then inferred the presence of a geomagnetic field at the time of the rock's formation.
 
  • #9
billiards said:
Well no, really. You cannot independently determine the age of a rock based on magnetic data. In the study you referred they measured the magnetic signature on a rock that they already knew was more than 3 billion years old -- which they then inferred the presence of a geomagnetic field at the time of the rock's formation.

Thanks a lot for your participate
 
  • #10
D H said:
Yes and no. Magnetic studies certainly can yield a lower bound on the Earth's age.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/56925/title/Geophysicists_push_age_of_Earths_magnetic_field_back_250_million_years

Thanks for your participate
 
  • #11
billiards said:
Well no, really. You cannot independently determine the age of a rock based on magnetic data. In the study you referred they measured the magnetic signature on a rock that they already knew was more than 3 billion years old -- which they then inferred the presence of a geomagnetic field at the time of the rock's formation.

Exactly. It may also be mentioned that the paleo magnetic orientation of the Earth magnetic field is fixated in the volcanic strata and can be used for a continuous dating scale. See for instance this graph:

01_f04a.gif


Note the white/black bar on top reflecting the paleomagnetic chrons, Matuyama, Gauss, Kaena etc witl alternating normal and reversed orientation of the Earth magnetic field with known reversal dates.

Source http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/202_SR/synth/syn_f4.htm
 
  • #12
Yes. You can establish a record of how the magnetic field has varied with time once you know the age of the rocks concerned and use them to measure how the magnetic field varies. This effectively gives you a database, which can be correlated with magnetic readings from elsewhere to give you an inference of the age of those rocks. It's important to recognise that the magnetic field is merely a fingerprint (or distinctive pattern) that can give you a "smell" of what the age of the rocks are given prior knowledge -- you absolutely cannot tell the age of the rock given solely magnetic data and no other information.
 
  • #13
Bradenbraden said:
As an aside, Earth's magnetic field is caused from the rotation of the hot metallic solid core; Earth has not always had this.
:rolleyes:
The magnetic field arises from convection currents in the outer liquid core which constitute a self exciting dynamo.
 
  • #14
4.5 bya is what my textbook says
 

Related to Determining Age of Earth with Superparamagnetism

What is superparamagnetism?

Superparamagnetism is a phenomenon where small particles of certain materials exhibit magnetic properties even though they are below their Curie temperature, which is the temperature at which a material loses its magnetization.

How can superparamagnetism be used to determine the age of Earth?

In the Earth's crust, there are small magnetic particles called magnetosomes that align with the Earth's magnetic field at the time of their formation. By studying the changes in the magnetization of these particles over time, scientists can determine the age of the Earth.

What materials are typically used for superparamagnetism dating?

The most commonly used materials for superparamagnetism dating are magnetite and hematite, as they are abundant in the Earth's crust and have stable magnetic properties.

How accurate is the superparamagnetism dating method?

The accuracy of superparamagnetism dating depends on the quality of the samples and the reliability of the measurements. Generally, it is considered to have an accuracy of within 1% of the actual age of the Earth.

Are there any limitations to using superparamagnetism for dating the age of Earth?

One limitation is that the method can only be used for relatively young samples, as the magnetic particles in older samples may have lost their magnetization due to geological processes. Additionally, the method is most accurate for samples between 10 million and 3.5 billion years old.

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