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Geochronology by CreationWiki
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Gen 1:5 - And there was evening,
and there was morning--the
first day
 Radioisotope
Age-dating Set
This radioisotope age dating book and
DVD set by the RATE group is a compendium every creationist should have in
their library. |
Many people believe the Biblical
chronology must be erroneous
because the scientific community claims the earth is
much older. Even young earth creationists tend to assume the
earth is possibly older than 6000 years due to radiocarbon dating.
Before making such compromises, lets examine age dating techniques and the
assumptions made by scientists who use these methods.
Radiocarbon or Carbon-14 Dating
'''Radiocarbon dating''' (C-14) is a dating
technique used to deduce the approximate age of organic remains by
measuring the quantity of C-14 in the sample and comparing them with
current atmospheric levels.
C-14 is an unstable form of carbon produced in the atmosphere when cosmic
rays strike N-14. The C-14 produced from this bombardment is then
incorporated into plants as C02 during photosynthesis, and is transferred
through the food chain to all organisms on earth. C-14 then degrades back
into N-14 at a quantifiable rate allowing the sample to be dated based on
the amount of unstable carbon remaining in the sample.
Using radiocarbon for dating is reliant upon the
assumption that C-14 production in the atmosphere has been constant during
the history of life on earth. If the earth is billions of years old, then the rate
of production and decay should have reached steady-state a long time ago. It
is assumed that these rates should be at equilibrium, but today we know that
the rate of C-14 production exceeds the rate of decay by as much as 25%.
This increase is attributed to the recent industrial revolution, and
believed to be primarily due to atmospheric nuclear testing. However, it is
assumed that before the industrial revolution, the rates should have been at
steady-state. Therefore to correct for the increased rate of C-14
production, a sample is used from early in the 19th century as a
standardizing reference.
The problem with C-14 dating:
If the rate of C-14 production in the atmosphere was
less in the past than it is today, then samples would seem excessively old.
From Biblical references and modern data there is good evidence that our
atmosphere has changed dramatically. The Bible says there was no rainbow
before the flood, which must mean the atmosphere was altered significantly
by the flood. We also know the atmosphere continues to decay.
Today we have evidence of global warming, and holes in the ozone layer; both
indicating a change in density that could cause higher rates of C-14
production. Belief in an old earth has led to assumptions that C-14
production and decay should be at stead-state. Radiocarbon is therefore
being used for dating when we simply have no way to determine what the rates
of C-14 production were in the past. One thing we do know for sure, is that
C-14 is being produced at higher rate today, and it is assumed that this
increase began only recently
  
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PAGE IS PART OF OUR INTRODUCTION TO CREATION SCIENCE
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