Astrophysics (Index)About

potassium/thorium ratio

(K/Th ratio)
(indication of thermal history)

The potassium/thorium ratio (K/Th ratio) compares the ratio of two elements that differ in volatility, i.e., boiling points: potassium is more volatile and thorium more of a refractory material. Within the solar system, a lack of potassium (as compared to thorium) suggests at some time, the temperature was such that potassium boiled away. Their long-half-life radioactive isotopes allow them to be detected by gamma-ray spectrometers from some distance, e.g., by planetary probes with or without landing.


(chemistry)
Further reading:
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012JGRE..117.0L04P/abstract
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015Icar..259...39P/abstract
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021ChEG...81l5746Y/abstract
https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1999/ofr-99-0016/index.html

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