Dear Gramps,

You mention the radioactive potassium/argon decay rate in many answers. I always thought it was called carbon dating. Is that the same or a different type of testing?

Emily, from Colorado

Dear Emily,

Radioactive carbon dating is indeed another method, but it is relatively short lived, and does not extend into the paleontological time period. The radioactive isotope of carbon, carbon-14, was discovered February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben. C14 is produced in the upper layers of the troposphere and the stratosphere by thermal neutrons absorbed by nitrogen atoms. Carbon-14 reacts with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce carbon dioxide, which is an integral component of all plant life. C14 has a half life of 5730 years, and has a relative concentration of up to only one part per billion of all the naturally-occurring carbon on the earth. Present techniques for the measurement of the fraction of C14 in a specimen are such that concentrations representing about 10 half lives are at the limit of detection. That limit would represent about 60,000 years. Projections to one half life, i.e. 5730 years, are considered to be only about 90% accurate; and that percentage decreases with increasing projected time, such that a 60,000-year projection is as far as those who hold to the efficacy of the method dare to go.

So you see that the time lines that can be projected by the radioactive decay of carbon 14 are very short lived with respect to the projections that are made by the potassium/argon method.

Withal, the accuracy of the C14 dating method is also very questionable. First, let’s consider the relative concentration of C14 in the atmosphere. C14 is produced in the upper atmosphere by cosmic ray bombardment of the earth from interstellar space. One a priori assumption is that the cosmic ray bombardment intensity has remained constant over time. A second a priori assumption is that there have been no other sources of C14 in the atmosphere. A third a priori assumption is that the relative concentration of C14 in the atmosphere has remained constant over time.

Evidence that none of these assumptions is true abounds. Yet, characteristic of the proponents of all the scientific theories of the past, those who believe that the theory of evolution is no longer a theory, but a law of science, ignore the contrary data, as we mentioned in the case of attempting to establish time lines by the potassium/argon method.. One case in point— There was a baby mammoth discovered in 1977 that was subjected to radiocarbon dating. Examination of one part of the carcass revealed that the animal lived 40,000 years ago. Examination of another part revealed that the animal lived 26,000 years ago, and wood found in the immediate vicinity of the carcass was shown by radiocarbon dating to be from 9000 to 10,000 years old.

What are some of the things that could change the concentration of C14 in the atmosphere? Insolation. There are periodically great fluctuations in the intensity of radiation from the sun. Sunburst activity, for instance, can be intense enough at times to interrupt radio communication all over the earth. The aurora borealis is caused by the creation of ions in the atmosphere from solar radiation. The radiation influx has varied so much, for instance, that there was an occurrence in the 1980s in which the intensity of the Aurora Borealis, normally visible only in the polar regions, was so great that it was observed as far south as the State of Georgia.

The amount of cosmic rays penetrating the earth’s atmosphere is also affected by the earth’s magnetic field which deflects cosmic rays. Precise measurements taken over the last 140 years have shown a steady decay in the strength of the earth’s magnetic field. This means that there has been a steady increase in radiocarbon production (which would increase the ratio of C14 in the atmosphere). Additional variations in the atmospheric content of C14 undoubtedly result from volcanic eruptions, which are known to contain great quantities of carbon and carbon dioxide that are devoid of C14. Since the ratio of C14 to C12 (the stable isotope of carbon) is only on the order of one part per billion, a relatively small fraction of C14 could alter that ratio in a major way.

Again, all truth comes from God. HE KNOWS! And if anything that God has revealed does not concur with any supposed scientific fact, who do you think needs to adjust his thinking?

Gramps