Age of the Earth Dating Methods

Carbon dating

•  C-14 has a half life of  5730 +/- 40 years.

•  Can only date things up to about 50,000 years old, after which no measurable C-14 would be left.

•  Can only date things that were once alive such as plants, animals; not possible with rocks since they don’t take in C-14 from plants.

      Issues due to assumptions:

• Initial amount of C14 is known – it is not

• The rate of C-14 decay is constant – cannot be relied to be so.

• Different plant discriminate against C-14 (they take in less than would be expected) making them seem older than they are.

• Rate of C-14 production is constant – it is not.  More cosmic rays from the sun penetrate the earth’s magnetic field today due to the strength of the earth’s magnetic field decreasing, resulting in higher levels of C-14 from N-14 than in the past.

      Notes

• A global  Flood would have greatly affected (see p.78 “Answers”)

•  Coal (which should be a good control sample) always test positive for C-14 indicating is must be less than 50,000 years old, not millions of years.

• It has been proven that coal does not take millions of years to form – in fact, a U.S. patent has been issued for a process that turns wood to coal in only a matter of weeks!

Other Radiometric methods

Used to measure ages in rocks:

• Rubidium-Strontium

• Potassium-Argon

• Uranium-Led

      Issues due to assumptions:

•  Initial amount of daughter element is known

•  Rate of decay is constant

• Systems were closed – no additional parent or daughter elements added or removed.

      Notes

• If the methods are accurate and reliable, they should all agree – they don’t – p85, “Answers”

• Basaltic lava flow over the edge of the Grand Canyon dates 270 million years older than the rock beneath the bottom of the canyon using the rubidium-strontium method – an impossibility.

• Rocks of known ages often date much older than they are known to be. (Mt St. Helens, also see P.83, “Answers”)

      Conclusion

• If rocks of known ages can’t be measured accurately, and the various dating methods do often do not agree with each other, how can these methods be relied upon for rocks of unknown ages? 

Stalactites and Stalagmites

• Takes millions of years?  Hardly.  In less than 40 years, large formations have grown (Molly Kathleen Mine, Colorado)