Where did the uranium come from?

Question

The general consensus on the age of the earth is based on watching the uranium break down.

(please correct me if i am wrong about that.)

If that is how they determine the age of this planet, then where did the uranium come from?

How old was the uranium when it got here?

thank you.

Answer 1

HIGHLIGHTS: Uranium is a naturally occurring chemical substance that is mildly radioactive. Everyone is exposed to low amounts of uranium through food, air, and water. Exposure to high levels of uranium can cause kidney disease. It is not known to cause cancer, but can decay into other radioactive materials that may. Uranium above natural levels has been found in at least 54 of the 1,517 National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Answer 2

You only have half the information.

Uranium-lead dating is performed on zicron crystals.

When zircon crystals form, they can incorporate uranium, but they do not incorporate lead.

Therefore, if you find lead in a zircon crystal, it has been formed by the breakdown of uranium. So by comparing the RATIO of uranium-to-lead (NOT the absolute amount of uranium), and by knowing the halflife of uranium, you can calculate the age of the zircon crystals, and therefore the age of the rock they are found in.

And - as others have said, uranium is formed in supernovas (which is actually where all elements heavier than iron are formed).

Answer 3

More specifically the age of the earth is based upon the radiometric date of zircon crystals found within the oldest known rocks. The uranium-->lead ratio is not the only relationship used in age determinations.

All elements that were used in creating our world were created within the nuclear furnace of a star. When a star explodes (as in a supernova), the elements are ejected over a wide region of space, becomming available for future accretion into new celestial bodies.

So ultimately, uranium on earth (or the parent material thereof) came from the guts of a star.