147Sm143Nd
147Sm-143Nd refers to a radiometric dating system based on the decay of samarium-147 to neodymium-143. Samarium-147 is a naturally occurring radioisotope that decays by alpha emission to neodymium-143 with a half-life of about 1.06 × 10^11 years. The decay lowers the mass number by four and the atomic number by two, producing Nd-143 as the daughter nuclide. Because Nd-143 is stable, the accumulating daughter can be measured to infer the age of the material.
Natural occurrence and significance: Samarium is a rare earth element present in various minerals. Among its
Dating method and interpretation: In practice, scientists measure the isotopic ratios 143Nd/144Nd and 147Sm/144Nd in minerals.
Applications and limitations: The 147Sm-143Nd system is valuable for dating old rocks, meteorites, and planetary differentiation