Thermoluminescence Dating Limitations

Luminescence dating including thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence is a type of dating methodology that measures the amount of light emitted from energy stored in certain rock types and derived soils to obtain an absolute date for a specific event that occurred in the past. The method is a direct dating technique , meaning that the amount of energy emitted is a direct result of the event being measured. Better still, unlike radiocarbon dating , the effect luminescence dating measures increases with time. As a result, there is no upper date limit set by the sensitivity of the method itself, although other factors may limit the method's feasibility. To put it simply, certain minerals quartz, feldspar, and calcite , store energy from the sun at a known rate.

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry. There are two components involved in evaluating age by luminescence. Factors which influence the accuracy of the two components, and so the accuracy of the age, are discussed. Limiting factors are identified in order to recognize aspects of measurement on which future development must concentrate to achieve an improvement in accuracy of age determination. Unable to display preview.

Thermoluminescence dating TL is the determination, by means of measuring the accumulated radiation dose, of the time elapsed since material containing crystalline minerals was either heated lava , ceramics or exposed to sunlight sediments. As a crystalline material is heated during measurements, the process of thermoluminescence starts. Thermoluminescence emits a weak light signal that is proportional to the radiation dose absorbed by the material. It is a type of luminescence dating.