Doesn't carbon dating show that the world is millions of years old??
-Monika
awesome question!!!
From the desk of the Lonely flashlight
Lonelyflashlight.blogspot.com
Dear Monika,
Many types of carbon exist, and carbon 14, since it is radioactive, has a half life (basically, it decays at a constant rate, so scientists use it to date bones.
But what do we need in order to find the date of something?
>The STARTING amount of Carbon
>The decay rate [check]
>and the amount currently [check]
How do scientists know the starting amount? They use carbon-12, another carbon isotope (isotope means there’s a different amount of neutrons) Carbon-12 and Carbon 14 in the atmosphere USUALLY has the same RATIO, meaning you can compare the amounts. Carbon12 stays the SAME throughout time, therefore if you take the C12 in some bones you can find the c12/c14 ratio and after that, the age of the bone/fossil/whatever was ALIVE.
Okay, so here’s where they went wrong.
A critical assumption used in carbon-14 dating has to do with this ratio. It is assumed that the ratio of 14C to 12C in the atmosphere has always been the same as it is today (1 to 1 trillion). If this assumption is true, then the AMS 14C dating method is valid up to about 80,000 years. [NOT EVEN able to calculate a million years, wowww]
So basically Dr Libby, this weird old guy who decided to create this dating method, he IGNORED the fact that the c12/c14 ratio didn’t stay the same. THE DATING RESULTS ARE THEREFORE INACCURATE >_>!!
ALSO! The magnetic field around the earth, which affects cosmic rays [they bring in C14] is getting WEAKER [about 10% weaker than before] so c14 is being produced LESS! This might be a little boring, but am I getting a point across? Lol. The ratio which scientists use to measure the age of once living things
Is BASED on an ASSUMPTION [the ratio has changed/is not always the same] ! J
Some proof of C14 dating ERRORS
Ø > Diamonds, a girl’s best friend. Scientists “date” them to millions/billions years, but how come they still contain C14? C14 should be gone after 100,000 years….[wacky, I know. After redating, they turned out to be “50,000 years”]
Ø >COAL – supposedly really really really really uberly old, okay? There’s still C14 in them too. [I think coal is made from ancient plants, that’s where C14 came from in them]
In conclusion – it’s just not accurate ! Some rock/lava from Mt. St. Helens volcano was measured in 2 respectable different LABS and the results ranged from 75 years to a million years. Sheeesh…
Nothing about carbon dating contradicts the Bible :D guess what? If noah’s flood had happened, some really bizarre science (email me if you want to hear it) shows the ratio of carbon/14 was 1/500th of the ratio today!!! What a difference. BUT IF YOU APPLY IT to the diamonds/coal, the dates make sense. Maybe it’s cause the Bible is true ^_^
Sincerely,
The lonely flashlight <3
See my advice column online/email me/tell your friends!
Here’s some extra notes for you!! J
If 14C is constantly decaying, will the earth eventually run out of 14C? The answer is no. Carbon-14 is constantly being added to the atmosphere. Cosmic rays from outer space, which contain high levels of energy, bombard the earth’s upper atmosphere.
Because CO2 gets incorporated into plants (which means the food we eat contains 14C and 12C), all living things should have the same ratio of 14C and 12C in them as in the air we breathe.
