Whose work first showed that the universe has a finite age from radioactive elements in stars?
Quick Answer
Ejnar Hertzsprung and later astronomers helped develop stellar dating methods, but modern cosmic age work was refined through radioactive dating by scientists like Arthur Holmes. For the universe itself, radioactive clocks became important in measuring the ages of stars and the Solar System.
The Full Story
The age of the universe is not determined by a single person’s work, but radioactive dating became crucial for building the timeline of the cosmos. Arthur Holmes helped establish radiometric dating on Earth, which later supported the age of the Solar System at about 4.6 billion years. In astronomy, radioactive decay in old stars and stellar populations has been used to estimate the ages of the oldest objects. These methods helped confirm that the universe is far older than a few billion years.
Key Facts
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"How radioactive atoms helped time the cosmos"
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