Scientists could determine the age of the piece through the study of atoms of uranium and lead
Scientists in Australia found a piece of crystal zircon dating to about 4.4 billion years old , and so is the oldest piece of the earth's crust at all.
The scientists could determine the age of the crystal piece , which they found in the mountain region of Western Australia state Jack , through the study of atoms of uranium and lead them.
It is known that uranium atoms turn very slowly over time to lead, and in a manner that can be used Xaah ( to determine age).
The findings are published in the journal ( Nature Geoscience ) scientific .
The study indicates that the earth formed a hard shell shortly after formed 4.6 billion years ago . This period is shorter than was previously assumed by the reigns . And it happened very quickly in the wake of a severe collision object the size of Mars believed to have led to the formation of the moon , about tens of millions of years .
Prior to this , the earth was thought as a ball of molten deposits in turmoil .
And raise the prevailing information on hardening the surface of the early Earth likely that the world is ready to host life early in its history.
Said John Valley of the University of Wisconsin - Madison, United States , and the supervisor of the study, said , " This confirms our view that the Earth entered the cold and in the process become uninhabitable. "
The Valley , " We do not have any evidence of the existence of life on the surface of the earth at that time. , And we do not have any evidence that there is no life . , But this does not mean that life were not present at that time , before 4.3 billion years ago. "
There are some rock formations that date back to about 3.5 billion a year in places like Canada , is that most of the Earth's surface rocks newly formed , as no older than a few hundreds of millions of years .
And a piece of zircon crystal found in the mountains of scientists Jack is cut from solid rock merged in old age newer material .
Although it was difficult to distinguish with the naked eye , but they still retain the form that reflects the conditions that hardened them.
