Question:
Do 'evolutionists' know how they date fossils?
Cindi
2011-06-28 03:52:47 UTC
Do 'evolutionists' know how they date fossils?
21 answers:
Church of Corinth
2011-06-28 04:07:37 UTC
Originally, rocks were classified in relative periods based on similarities of rock types and fossils. When radiometric dating began, they used it to get more precision in terms of dating of the fossils. Carbon dating is used for lifeforms only (which most fossils are not) and the accuracy at even 50,000 years is extremely suspect. Fortunately, there are many more radioactive elements with much longer half-lives that can be used logarithmically to provide dates for rock layers and the contained fossils.



None of this has anything to do with evolution, of course, which is a part of biology. Fossils (and the dating thereof) are a part of geology.
Brigalow Bloke
2011-06-28 04:25:21 UTC
NOT by carbon dating. Old fossils do not contain enough carbon, even if C14 dating could be used.



There are around 40 different radiometric dating methods that have been used. About 12 or these are in fairly common use and include U235 and U238 to two different isotopes of lead, thorium-lead, potassium-argon, caesium-rubidium and other radiometric systems not involving radioactivity, but which can estimate how long a mineral has been in the dark (or in the light). These are mostly used on artifacts so are not used much on fossils. With around 40 methods available, a paleontologist wanting an absolute date will nominate the most suitable for his specimens,



Another method revived in the late 1940s and which threw even more doubt on the Piltdown cranium and jaw is the fluorine absorption test, which measures the amount of F in the fossil and in the surrounding rock or soil. A steady migration of F into the fossils is assumed, depending on the average moisture content and temperature of the soil. This gives a handle on maximum and minimum ages of a fossil and is cheaper than radiometric methods, but probably not by much and would not be as accurate.



Radiometric dates are absolute but expensive to get. Other methods using other fossils for comparison which may require a lens or microscope to see are often used as they are far cheaper and quicker than radiometric dates. The other fossils generally have an absolute radiometric date. Exactly the same methods are considered sufficiently good for most purposes by oil amd mining company exploration geologists with millions of dollars at stake.



If funds are available and there is any informed and serious controversy, a radiometric date may be obtained. Creationist are not considered to be informed or serious controverters and are usually ignored, which is far better than their leaders deserve.



So yes, I know how fossils are dated, which is more than I can say for quite a lot of other people.



.EDIT

"And why a 10,000,000 year old diamond can still measure carbon emissions" What does that mean? I was not aware that a diamond or even a quartz grain could measure anything. Do you mean it still has a C-14 content? Well -citation needed, and apologetics or creationist sites are not citations - let's see the original scientific papers in the original journal by the original author. Otherwise it didn't happen. Far too many lies about C14 over the last 30 or more years for any statement about it to be taken as fact.
Bastion 「A」
2011-06-29 04:00:42 UTC
It depends how accurately you want to date it. If it's found in strata that is known to date back to a specific era then you can roughly date it based solely on that.



If you want something more precise, and we're talking still very unprecise btw, then you'd test the fossil for various radioactive elements and subsequently determine the ratio of radioactive material to its daughter products. By determining how much has decayed, and by knowing the isotope's half-life, you can calculate a rough age.



Of course you still have to determine whether the results are likely to be skewed by contaminants. Much in the same way snail shells can absorb various minerals, skewing the results of radiometric testing, so too can fossils, since the process of fossilisation replaces bone and other hard substances with minerals leached from the surrounding material.
CreationCrusher10000
2011-06-28 04:07:43 UTC
Nuclear dating. A 10,000,000 year old diamond can still measure carbon emissions because...tada! It's made of carbon.



Ask in the chemistry section next time.
Bob B
2011-06-28 03:57:54 UTC
Yes. There are several means by which this can be done:



1- Radioactive dating of the fossil and surrounding rock. The elements used for dating depend on what time-frame you're looking at. Carbon-14 gives very accurate dates back to 50 000 years (it cannot be measured accurately beyond that). Uranium dating can go back billions of years.



2- Positioning in the rock, and other properties of the rock, can give clues as to its age.
anonymous
2011-06-28 04:11:46 UTC
as I recall from the 3rd grade science class I took, radiometric dating of decaying isotopes and "position" in the rock strata or, obviously, some combination of both. Carbon dating was supposed to be particularly accurate for archeological finds, more so that paleontological. 50K years range maybe?.
David D
2011-06-29 13:21:31 UTC
There are many absolute methods...



Amino acid dating

Dendrochronology

Fission track dating



Various radiometric dating methods:

- Samarium-neodymium dating

- Potassium-argon dating

- Rubidium-strontium dating

- Uranium-thorium dating

- Radiocarbon dating

- Argon-argon (Ar-Ar)

- Iodine-xenon (I-Xe)

- Lanthanum-barium (La-Ba)

- Lead-lead (Pb-Pb)

- Lutetium-hafnium (Lu-Hf)

- Neon-neon (Ne-Ne)

- Rhenium-osmium (Re-Os)

- Uranium-lead-helium (U-Pb-He)

- Uranium-uranium (U-U)



Each method has its pluses and minus...



Each method has a range of years where it is useful...
anonymous
2011-06-28 11:46:26 UTC
Yep. And we can go back 50,000 Million Years.
?
2011-06-28 03:58:23 UTC
By the same method used by christian archeologists. I really hope you're going to call into question carbon dating.
anonymous
2011-06-28 03:55:41 UTC
Carbon dating? Sedimentary rock formation??
Brian A
2011-06-28 04:08:04 UTC
radiometric dating such as:

(1) Uranium-lead

(2) Samarium-neodymium

(3) Potassium-argon
gb_17042000
2011-06-28 04:10:31 UTC
Yes they do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating
Queenie01
2011-06-28 03:55:35 UTC
I assume like the rest of the population some do and some don't. Depends on how well you remember your grade three science classes!
?
2011-06-28 03:57:37 UTC
Radiometric dating, based on the half-life of isotopes decaying at consistent rate.

Why, do you want to challenge modern physics?



For something 10000000 years old, you would need to use Potassium-Argon dating.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium-argon_dating
EVOLoVE
2011-06-28 03:54:45 UTC
I dated an old guy once, no i don't know why or how i did it, but i'm not an evolutionist though either?
anonymous
2011-06-28 03:59:12 UTC
Yes.
anonymous
2011-06-28 03:55:38 UTC
Scan the barcode.

Or count the rings if it's a tree or Olga.
 LXIX
2011-06-28 03:55:07 UTC
carbon and radioactive testing.



also by rock positioning, ie. where a specific fossil lays in the ground.
anonymous
2011-06-28 04:00:35 UTC
Yes, by a variety of methods.
anonymous
2011-06-28 04:01:07 UTC
yes ..its not fool proof ,but is quite accurate
Nathan Dampf
2016-12-01 14:12:15 UTC
No.


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