Half-life
Carbon dating is used to find the age of fossils, the earth, and rocks. 14C is an unstable isotope that causes radioactive decay. Because 14C causes radioactive decay, it is used in finding the age of organic matter, or the process of Carbon dating. Radioactive decay occurs when one element changes into another element as it decays. As 14C decays, it turns into 14N, an isotope of Nitrogen.
Using the original amount of carbon in the organic material, and the half-life of carbon, 5,730 years, Carbon dating calculates how long an organism has been dead, or how long ago a rock was formed. However, this very useful method has it limits. According to Christian scientist Mike Riddle, Carbon dating can estimate a substance’s age up to 80,000 years using the “”Accelerator Mass Spectrometer”.” …show more content…
Believing that the earth is very young, 6,000 years old to be exact, Riddle believes that Carbon dating makes the ages of organic material much greater than that of their actual age. Riddle believes that “Dr. Willard Libby, the founder of the carbon-14 dating method, assumed” that the ratio of 12C and 14C were “constant” (Riddle, Mike.) When creating the process of carbon dating, Libby disregarded the fact that the “atmosphere” was not “in equilibrium,” as it conflicted with his belief of a billion year old earth (Riddle, Mike.) Libby thought that since earth was created so long ago, that the “atmosphere” should have been “in equilibrium” (Riddle, Mike.) However, Riddle states that “Dr. Libby’s calculations showed that if the earth started with no 14C in the atmosphere, it would take up to 30,000 years to build up to a steady state (equilibrium).” This idea that the earth’s atmosphere was not balanced supports Riddle’s claim that earth is relatively young, which supports the idea that according to the Bible, the earth was created 6,000 years
Carbon dating is used to find the age of fossils, the earth, and rocks. 14C is an unstable isotope that causes radioactive decay. Because 14C causes radioactive decay, it is used in finding the age of organic matter, or the process of Carbon dating. Radioactive decay occurs when one element changes into another element as it decays. As 14C decays, it turns into 14N, an isotope of Nitrogen.
Using the original amount of carbon in the organic material, and the half-life of carbon, 5,730 years, Carbon dating calculates how long an organism has been dead, or how long ago a rock was formed. However, this very useful method has it limits. According to Christian scientist Mike Riddle, Carbon dating can estimate a substance’s age up to 80,000 years using the “”Accelerator Mass Spectrometer”.” …show more content…
Believing that the earth is very young, 6,000 years old to be exact, Riddle believes that Carbon dating makes the ages of organic material much greater than that of their actual age. Riddle believes that “Dr. Willard Libby, the founder of the carbon-14 dating method, assumed” that the ratio of 12C and 14C were “constant” (Riddle, Mike.) When creating the process of carbon dating, Libby disregarded the fact that the “atmosphere” was not “in equilibrium,” as it conflicted with his belief of a billion year old earth (Riddle, Mike.) Libby thought that since earth was created so long ago, that the “atmosphere” should have been “in equilibrium” (Riddle, Mike.) However, Riddle states that “Dr. Libby’s calculations showed that if the earth started with no 14C in the atmosphere, it would take up to 30,000 years to build up to a steady state (equilibrium).” This idea that the earth’s atmosphere was not balanced supports Riddle’s claim that earth is relatively young, which supports the idea that according to the Bible, the earth was created 6,000 years