The Role of Resolution and Sample Preparation in Hydration Rim Measurement: Implications for Experimentally Determined Hydration Rates

Abstract

The role of the theoretical limit of resolution of optical microscopes is discussed in relation to obsidian rim age-date determinations. The resolution of the optics is shown to contribute an error of ± 20 percent. The error analysis identified the determination of the activation energy as the single step in the dating process that introduces the largest error.