Radiocarbon dating a third radiocarbon revolution. Occasionally, radiocarbon dating techniques date an object of popular interest, for example the Shroud of Turin, a piece of linen cloth thought by some to bear an image of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. Three separate laboratories dated samples of linen from the Shroud in 1988; the results pointed to 14th-century origins, raising doubts about the shroud's authenticity as an alleged 1st-century relic. Researchers have studied other radioactive isotopes created by cosmic rays to determine if they could also be used to assist in dating objects of archaeological interest; such isotopes include , , , ,
Isotope geochemistry successfully used in forensic science to fingerprint bullets, because each batch of ammunition has its own peculiar Pb/Pb vs Pb/Pb ratio. Samarium–neodymium is an isotope system which can be utilised to provide a date as well as isotopic fingerprints of geological materials, and various other materials including archaeological finds (pots, ceramics). Sm decays to produce Nd with a half life of 1.06x10 years. Dating is achieved usually by trying to produce an isochron of several minerals within a rock specimen. The initial Nd/Nd ratio is determined. This initial ratio is modelled relative to CHUR - the Chondritic Uniform Reservoir -