Important facts about radiometric dating

Does radiometric dating prove the age of the Earth?

Contrary to the impression that we are given, radiometric dating does not prove that the Earth is millions of years old. The vast age has simply been assumed. 2 The calculated radiometric ‘ages’ depend on the assumptions that are made.

Why do scientists reject all but the oldest dating methods?

Yet when asked why they reject all but the oldest science-based dating methods, the answer often given is that (they think) long-age radiometric dating is more reliable and that science settled the matter of the earth’s age many years ago.

What is radioactive decay dating and how can it be used?

Dive headfirst into the weird world of dating by radioactive decay. Radiocarbon dating can be used to date the archaeological remains of once-living things, like samples of bone and wood. Credit: Stevica Mrdja/EyeEm/Getty Images

What was the problem with radiometric dating of Mt St Helens?

Return to text. This argument was used against creationist work that exposed problems with radiometric dating. Laboratory tests on rock formed from the 1980 eruption of Mt St Helens gave ‘ages’ of millions of years. Critics claimed that ‘old’ crystals contained in the rock contaminated the result.

Does radiometric dating prove millions of years old?

Many accept radiometric dating methods as proof that the earth is millions of years old, in contrast to the biblical timeline. Mike Riddle exposes the unbiblical assumptions used in these calculations. The presupposition of long ages is an icon and foundational to the evolutionary model.

How is the age of the Earth determined?

The same techniques of radiometric dating have been used on those rocks. All the data from Earth and beyond has led to the estimated age of 4.5 billion years for our planet. The age of rocks is determined by radiometric dating, which looks at the proportion of two different isotopes in a sample.

Does radioisotope dating prove the oldest Earth?

Proponents of evolution publicize radioisotope dating as a reliable and consistent method for obtaining absolute ages of rocks and the age of the earth. This apparent consistency in textbooks and the media has convinced many Christians to accept an old earth (4.6 billion years old).

How do scientists measure the age of rocks?

We are told that scientists use a technique called radiometric dating to measure the age of rocks. We are also told that this method very reliably and consistently yields ages of millions to billions of years, thereby establishing beyond question that the earth is immensely old – a concept known as deep time.

What Is Radioactive Dating, and How Does It Work? Radiometric dating (often called radioactive dating) is a technique used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products, using known decay rates.

Why is the decay of an atom useful for dating?

Is Mount St Helens a case of radioisotope dating failure?

Originally published in Creation 23, no 3 (June 2001): 24. Is this dating failure from Mount St Helens an isolated case of radioisotope dating giving wrong results for rocks of known age? Certainly not!

Is radiometric dating reliable?

The results came back dating the rock to 350,000 years old, with certain compounds within it as old as 2.8 million years. Dr. Austins conclusion is that radiometric dating is uselessly unreliable.

Why is radiometric dating difficult for young Earth creationists?

Radiometric dating of rocks and minerals using naturally occurring, long-lived radioactive isotopes is troublesome for young-earth creationists because the techniques have provided overwhelming evidence of the antiquity of the earth and life.

What is Dr Austins conclusion from his radiometric dating?

Austins conclusion is that radiometric dating is uselessly unreliable. Critics found that Dr. Austin chose a dating technique that is inappropriate for the sample tested, and charged that he deliberately used the wrong experiment in order to promote the idea that science fails to show that the Earth is older than the Bible claims.