Age of the Universe essays

Age of the Universe essays The goal of the project is to find the age of the universe according to the theory that there were equal amounts of the two uranium isotopes U235 and U238 at the time of the Big Bang. At present, there are 137.7 U238 atoms for each atom of U235. We know that the half-life of U235 is 0.71 billion years, and the half-life of U238 is 4.51 billion years, we used this information to determine the age of the universe. We started by looking at the problem mathematically and then after figuring out the age of the universe with the above information. We proceeded to look for other sources of information about the age of the universe with supporting data. The two largest sources that were found were a Seattle University professor and a theory proposed by Edwin Hubble. Using the information above, we Y238(t) = Y238(0)ekt = No ekt Where No ekt is initial amount presumed equal for both isotopes. Y238(0) is the amount at Big Bang. Using the half-life formula of k = -ln2/T1. Where T1 is 4.51 in billion of years. Y235(t) = Y235(0)ekt = No ekt Y235(0) is the amount at Big Bang. Using the half-life formula of k2 = -ln2/T2. Where T2 is 0.71 in billions of years. Given these equations, they hypothesis of the problem is states that Y238(tnow) = 137.7 Y235(tnow) = 137.7 So Y238(tnow) = Y238(0) ekt = No ek2tnow = etnow(k2-K1) = 137.7 Y235(tnow) Y235(0) ekt Noek1tnow Given that tnow cancels out for both U235 and ...