Radiometric dating errors

Radiometric Dating—Not Infallible

An oversight in a radioisotope dating technique used to date everything from meteorites to geologic samples means that scientists have likely overestimated the age of many samples, according to new research from North Carolina State University. To conduct radioisotope dating, scientists evaluate the concentration of isotopes in a material. The number of protons in an atom determines which element it is, while the number of neutrons determines which isotope it is. For example, strontium has 38 protons and 48 neutrons, whereas strontium has 38 protons and 49 neutrons. Radioactive elements, such as rubidium but not strontium or strontium , decay over time. By evaluating the concentrations of all of these isotopes in a rock sample, scientists can determine what its original make-up of strontium and rubidium were. Then, by assessing the isotope concentrations of rubidium and strontium, scientists can back-calculate to determine when the rock was formed. The three isotopes mentioned can be used for dating rock formations and meteorites; the method typically works best on igneous rocks. But it's not quite that straight-forward. The data from radioisotope analysis tends to be somewhat scattered.

REGISTER TO VIEW

How reliable is geologic dating? Updated 9 October c In a separate article Radiometric dating , we sketched in some technical detail how dates are calculated using radiometric dating techniques. As we pointed out in that article, radiometric dates are based on known rates of radioactivity, a phenomenon that is rooted in fundamental laws of physics and follows simple mathematical formulas.

REGISTER TO VIEW

Internet Explorer is no longer supported. Try downloading another browser like Chrome or Firefox. If you already have an account, Sign in. Once you understand the basic science, however, you can see how wrong assumptions lead to incorrect dates.

REGISTER TO VIEW

Paper spotlights key flaw in widely used radioisotope dating technique

You've got two decay products, lead and helium, and they're giving two different ages for the zircon. For this reason, ICR research has long focused on the science behind these dating techniques. Along with scores of other Bible-believing geologists, ICR scientists have made key observations that compel us to reject the millions-of-years apparent ages that these techniques yield:.

REGISTER TO VIEW

REGISTER TO VIEW