Young Radiocarbon in Old Samples | The Institute for Creation Research
Young Radiocarbon in Old Samples

Old-earth advocates often claim that dating methods, including radiocarbon, show the earth must be older than the Bible says. But is this true? This chart reflects the radiocarbon that still lingers inside 60 carbon-containing Earth materials collected from representative rock layers. Each result confronts millions-of-years age assignments for those layers.

Each result confronts millions-of-years age assignments for those layers. Tweet: Each result confronts millions-of-years age assignments for those layers. https://www.icr.org/article/10287/ @icrscience @icrbthomas

Radiocarbon refers to a radioactive isotope of carbon. Neutrons from sunrays collide with nitrogen in Earth’s upper atmosphere to form radiocarbon, which steadily emits beta particles until it all reverts to stable nitrogen. The calculated shelf life for radiocarbon atoms does not exceed 100,000 years. Thus, detectable radiocarbon within a given sample would become nitrogen before then.1

Scientists expect no radiocarbon in samples they deem older than 100,000 years. Most dating experts call these materials “carbon dead” regardless of their actual radiocarbon content. Then they use low (but not dead) radiocarbon materials as background blanks.2 Most results on this chart show fewer than 47,000 carbon years—the age of many labs’ background blanks. Thus, nearly 60 samples of fossils (mostly bone), wood, coal, and marble not only fail to fit their evolutionary ages, but they have more radiocarbon than the supposedly carbon- depleted background.

Scientists expect no radiocarbon in samples they deem older than 100,000 years. Tweet: Scientists expect no radiocarbon in samples they deem older than 100,000 years. https://www.icr.org/article/10287/ @icrscience @icrbthomas

The labs did not measure exactly how old these were—that’s impossible. Instead, they measured isotope amounts. Assumption-laden formulas converted those amounts into the age estimates shown on this chart. Hence, carbon years do not correspond to actual years in these cases.3 What gave these artifacts more carbon years than the actual number of years since they were buried? Possibly Earth’s decaying magnetic field was once strong enough to deflect the sun’s rays and lessen radiocarbon production.4 Nearby supernovas affected radiocarbon levels,5 but mostly the much higher pre-Flood biomass diluted radiocarbon.4 That would produce high numbers of carbon years for objects buried in the Flood about 4,500 years ago, which is consistent with these data.

These 60 radiocarbon results help confirm Scripture’s picture of a recent flood. Tweet: These 60 radiocarbon results help confirm Scripture’s picture of a recent flood. https://www.icr.org/article/10287/ @icrscience @icrbthomas

Two technical papers reference detailed descriptions of almost all these results.6,7 Secular scientists demand millions of years for all 60 samples—but all 60 still contain particle-emitting radiocarbon! The logical way to rescue such deep-time dogma from these results is to assert they were somehow all contaminated. But from what? Sunrays’ neutrons do not penetrate very far through Earth, labs strictly control and cross-check for contamination, and radiation from uranium decay is laughably insufficient to generate radiocarbon underground.8 These 60 radiocarbon results help confirm Scripture’s picture of a recent flood.

References

  1. Hebert, J. 2013. Rethinking Carbon-14 Dating: What Does It Really Tell Us about the Age of the Earth? Acts & Facts. 42 (4): 12-14.
  2. Their background blank sets an artificial cutoff point for their lowest expected amounts of radiocarbon (and therefore their highest possible age).
  3. How do we know? Tree ring counts show fewer years than their corresponding radiocarbon years for older samples. Also, Noah’s Flood deposited the extensive rock layers in which most of the materials on this chart were found, and Scripture dates the Flood at fewer than 10,000 years ago.
  4. Baumgardner, J. R. 2005. 14C Evidence for a Recent Global Flood and a Young Earth. In Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth: Results of a Young-Earth Creationist Research Initiative. Vardiman, L., A. A. Snelling, and E. F. Chaffin, eds. El Cajon, CA: Institute for Creation Research, and Chino Valley, AZ: Creation Research Society, 587-630.
  5. Firestone, R. B. 2014. Observation of 23 supernovae that exploded <300 pc from Earth during the past 300 kyr. Astrophysical Journal. 789: 29-40.
  6. Thomas, B. and V. Nelson. 2015. Radiocarbon in Dinosaur and Other Fossils. Creation Research Society Quarterly. 51(4): 299-311.
  7. Giem, P. 2001. Carbon-14 Content of Fossil Carbon. Origins. 51: 6-30.
  8. Cupps, V. 2017. Radiocarbon Dating Can’t Prove an Old Earth. Acts & Facts. 46 (4): 9.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his M.S. in biotechnology from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Cite this article: Brian Thomas, Ph.D. 2017. Young Radiocarbon in Old Samples. Acts & Facts. 46 (11).

The Latest
NEWS
Another Sea Scorpion
There are few animals more nightmarish than an 8-foot sea scorpion! Although, they were not true scorpions, their fossils display a menacing and formidable...

NEWS
June 2023 ICR Wallpaper
"From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD's name is to be praised." Psalm 113:3 NKJV ICR June 2023 wallpaper is now available...

NEWS
Sauron Inhabits the Amazon
“The Eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat’s, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on...

DAYS OF PRAISE DEVOTIONALS
Summer 2023
...

CREATION PODCAST
I Have NO Credentials! | The Creation Podcast: Episode 50
Do you need a science degree to be a champion of creation? How do we communicate the truths of Scripture to our friends and family? The good news...

NEWS
Shark Jaws
Sharks are back in the news, and it’s in regard to their most formidable and fearsome structure—their jaws. Zoologists recently studied...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
Established Day 4 | Creation.Live Podcast: Episode 13
Humans have long been fascinated by the night sky. As Psalm 19:1 reminds us, "The heavens declare the glory of God"—His creative signature...

NEWS
Physical Evidence Trumps Evolution Theory
One of the hallmarks of good science is to formulate a cogent theory based on the physical evidence. For example, if the physical evidence (e.g. a fossilized...

NEWS
Solar System Symmetries
Most all school children can recite the planets in our solar system using memory devices such as: “My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Names”...

NEWS
Does Iron Toast Union Rescue Long Ages?
The puzzle persists after all these years. On the one hand, biochemists perform decay rate studies that show biochemicals cannot last a million years...