Examining Thermoluminescence Dating | The Institute for Creation Research

Examining Thermoluminescence Dating

The most common method for dating artifacts and biological materials is the carbon-14 (14C) method. However, it poses a serious problem for deep-time advocates because it cannot be used for dating anything much older than 50,000 years. After that time virtually all measureable 14C should be gone.1 So a substantial gap exists between dating objects less than 50,000 years old and more than one million years old.2 The relatively new luminescence dating technique attempts to fill this gap.2,3

Many archaeologists use this method to date pottery and, consequently, the sedimentary layers in which they appear. Pottery contains certain crystalline materials.4 When pottery gets covered in the ground, radiation from the earth starts to energize (excite) the electrons of these crystalline materials, putting them into “trap states.” This is a measure of the radiation dose. The longer the pottery is in the ground, the more radiation dose it will absorb, causing more electrons to be excited into trap states. When scientists pull pottery from the ground, they use heat or lasers to de-excite these electrons out of their trap states back to their original state. This causes the electrons to give off light. Scientists measure the amount of light to get the total measured radiation dose (TMRD). They divide this by an assumed radiation dose rate (RDR) to estimate the pottery’s age.

At this point, the method seems to be a straightforward concept. However, problems arise from assuming a uniform radiation dose rate over any significant period of time and assuming that the TMRD resulted from the object or artifact being in a strictly constrained environment identical to that in which it was found. Both assumptions become less realistic with the passage of time.

Another problem with the TMRD is the calibration of the detector, since different crystals in an artifact can contain different amounts and/or types of luminescence material. For example, a lithium fluoride crystal can preferentially respond to gamma thermal neutron, beta proton, or alpha particle radiation depending on whether it is constructed from 6Li or 7Li or a mixture of the two and what trace elements are included in its matrix.5,6

The constancy of the RDR is even more problematic because it’s based on the uniformitarian assumption that the RDR has been constant. However, it’s well known among radiation physicists that RDRs vary with location, season, solar activity, and even time of day.7

Like most dating methods used by secularists, many assumptions are built into their speculations and hypotheses. All the assumptions mentioned above presume the secularists’ deep-time bias about conditions they haven’t observed. Therefore, luminescence dating results should be regarded with skepticism and the accompanying caveats clearly stated. Instead, we should trust the Word of the One who was there at the beginning as recorded in the book of Genesis.

References

  1. Also, it should be noted that 14C dates often don’t agree with historical and archaeological dates. De Wesselow, T. 2012. The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection. New York: The Penguin Group, 160-173; Thomas, B. 2015. Can Carbon Dating Be Trusted? Acts & Facts. 44 (10): 17; Snelling, A. 2008. Radiocarbon Ages for Fossil Ammonites and Wood in Cretaceous Strata near Redding, California. Answers Research Journal. 1: 123-144.
  2. There are claims that the Argon-Argon (Ar-Ar) dating method can be used to date objects as young as 100,000 years, but given that the half-life of the 40K parent is 1.25 billion years, it seems highly unlikely that enough 40Ar can accumulate in a rock sample due to radioactive decay to definitely date it at that young age. In addition, K-Ar/Ar-Ar dating is not typically used to date the sedimentary rock in which artifacts are found.
  3. Roberts, R. and O. Lian. 2015. Illuminating the Past. Nature. 520 (7548): 438-439.
  4. Such as calcium fluoride (CaF2), lithium fluoride (LiF2), calcium sulfate (CaSO4), lithium borate (Li2B4O7), calcium borate (Ca3(BO3)2), potassium bromide (KBr), and feldspars.
  5. Ehmann, W. and D. Vance, 1991. Radiochemistry and Nuclear Methods of Analysis. J. D. Winefordner, ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 245.
  6. Tsoulfanidis, N., and S. Landsberger. 2011. Measurement and Detection of Radiation, 3rd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 448-452.
  7. Radiation Dose Calculator. American Nuclear Society. Posted on ans.org.

Image credit: Copyright © 2011 S. Khasswneh. Adapted for use in accordance with federal copyright (fair use doctrine) law. Usage by ICR does not imply endorsement of copyright holder.

* Dr. Cupps is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and received his Ph.D. in nuclear physics at Indiana University-Bloomington.

Cite this article: Vernon R. Cupps, Ph.D. 2016. Examining Thermoluminescence Dating. Acts & Facts. 45 (5).

The Latest
CREATION PODCAST
Volcanoes on Mars??? | The Creation Podcast: Episode 58
Geologic activity shows signs of youth not just on our planet, but all throughout the universe. As we discover more about our solar system and the...

NEWS
The Brain’s Amazing Ability of Visual Perception
Scientists will never fully understand the brain’s operation.1,2,3 As neurological research continues, it will only reveal more...

ACTS & FACTS
Continuous Environmental Tracking : An Engineering-Based Model...
Purpose The Institute for Creation Research is engaged in our biggest science initiative in the last two decades, and it could be our most important...

ACTS & FACTS
CET: Testing the Cavefish Model
Staff Writer Purpose The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is testing an engineering- based model of rapid biological adaptation called...

ACTS & FACTS
Original Biochemistry in Fossils
Purpose In 1997, paleontologist Dr. Mary Schweitzer accidentally stumbled upon what appeared to be blood vessels and blood cells from a T. rex...

ACTS & FACTS
Debunking an Iconic Uniformitarian Ice Age Theory
Purpose The Milankovitch, or astronomical, theory holds that the timing of Ice Ages is controlled by slow changes in Earth’s orbital and...

ACTS & FACTS
ICR and Explaining the Ice Age
by Larry Vardiman, Ph.D., and Michael J. Oard, M.S.* Purpose There is strong geological evidence for an Ice Age, so the Institute for Creation...

ACTS & FACTS
Planetary Magnetism
Purpose In 1971, Dr. Thomas Barnes publicized a then “trade secret” of scientists studying the earth’s magnetic field, which...

ACTS & FACTS
Cosmology Research
Purpose Taking the Hebrew text of Scripture at face value without inserting gaps or revising the meanings, the universe is only about 6,000 years...

ACTS & FACTS
The Coconino Sandstone: Water, not Wind
Purpose The Coconino Sandstone is one of the most well-known formations in Grand Canyon. The blond-colored sandstone, just three layers down from...