Wednesday, July 11, 2007
What a Fool Believes
Christian Post reporter Doug Huntington examines the evidence pro and con -- but mostly pro -- that dinosaurs and man walked the earth at the same time. Strict creationists, writes Huntington, have begun to make a strong push toward trying to prove the legitimacy of the co-habitation of dinosaurs with mankind.
Citing arguments "that carbon dating does not accurately place dinosaurs as living more than 10,000 years ago" Huntington claims some creationists look "at the same fossil evidence that evolutionists look at."
Well, if they're looking to carbon dating of dinosaur fossils, they're obviously not looking at the same evidence that scientists are. Anyone who knows anything about carbon dating knows the limit for radiocarbon dating ranges between 58,000 and 62,000 years. The half life of C14 is 5,730. After about 10 half lives (10 x 5,730 = 57, 300 years, get it?) the residual 14C is too low to be distinguished from background radiation.
Since the extinction of the dinosaurs occurred some 65 million years ago -- that's 11,344 half lives -- carbon dating is not used to determine the age of these fossils.
Radiometric dating, on the other hand, can provide accurate dates for dinosaur fossils found in proximity to volcanic rock. In addition, faunal succession and the relative age of rock strata are well known. These concepts are easily grasped by eighth and ninth graders, if not by creationists.
For a good short explanation of radiometric dating of rocks and fossils look here.
Citing arguments "that carbon dating does not accurately place dinosaurs as living more than 10,000 years ago" Huntington claims some creationists look "at the same fossil evidence that evolutionists look at."
Well, if they're looking to carbon dating of dinosaur fossils, they're obviously not looking at the same evidence that scientists are. Anyone who knows anything about carbon dating knows the limit for radiocarbon dating ranges between 58,000 and 62,000 years. The half life of C14 is 5,730. After about 10 half lives (10 x 5,730 = 57, 300 years, get it?) the residual 14C is too low to be distinguished from background radiation.
Since the extinction of the dinosaurs occurred some 65 million years ago -- that's 11,344 half lives -- carbon dating is not used to determine the age of these fossils.
Radiometric dating, on the other hand, can provide accurate dates for dinosaur fossils found in proximity to volcanic rock. In addition, faunal succession and the relative age of rock strata are well known. These concepts are easily grasped by eighth and ninth graders, if not by creationists.
For a good short explanation of radiometric dating of rocks and fossils look here.
