Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to I'm just trying to ask a real question...

I think it is a very good question.
ER — (archived)

Why should temperature levels have anything to do with isotope fractions? Except for continuosly-created and decaying isotopes like C14, the isotope ratios should have remained constant since the formation of the planet. What goes on in the atomic nucleus is independent of the environmental temperature. I'm sure there is a good reason for believing this, but it's not clear to me either.
C14 is continuously created by cosmic rays, after which it it radioactively decays, so the level of C14 in the environment is in equilibrium. When carbon is incorporated into organic matter, the c14 continues to decay but it is no longer replenished from the atmosphere, allowing the c12/c14 ratio to date the material.

But temperature plays no role in this process. Can anyone help us out here?

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