Addresses of All Authors
Charles A. Wolcott Jr.
141 Nonap Rd Apt 1308
El Paso TX, 79928, USA
Author's Biography
Charles A Wolcott Jr. is an AP Physics teacher with a BS in Computer Science and 2 ½ years of Civil Engineering. He is a graduate of the 11th Cadre program (2015) of the Creation Truth Foundation, a writer/speaker for the ministry Worldview Warriors, and has published five books on Biblical foundations, reliability of Scripture, character of God, and fiction with a spiritual warfare themed novel.
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Proposal
Studies investigating the validity of radiometric dating methods have raised many questions with results of methods showing ages of samples well outside the mainstream story line and a prospect of accelerated decay rates during the Flood. However, the measurements of the rates themselves have not been analyzed. This study examines a mathematical analysis of how the half-life of isotopes U-238, K-40, Rb-87, and C-14 have been measured and calls for a closer inspection of the process. The primary tool for measuring the half-life is the Geiger Counter, which only has a 20% efficiency rate, [1] while observation times of individual samples run at a calculated percent of between 1.75 E-(-4) and 4.045 E-(-16) of the proclaimed measurements. This raises the question of how thorough the initial studies of the measurements of decay rates were and brings up several experiments that can be done which could either validate the measuring tools or utterly refute them.
If the decay constants are measured accurately, then a known amount of a given substance should physically decay in a measurable time. A sample with 5g of C-14 can be placed in a nitrogen-free environment and within three days, there should be reduction of 0.005 mg (1 part per million) of the sample. As individual samples are not examined long enough to determine consistency for decay rates, experiments using the same sample over long periods of time should reflect the exponential decay pattern.
With such short observation times, it also raises the question if the counts as a whole were ever plotted on a graph to be curve fit. If the counters are accurate, then the counts should be in the range of E-7 to E-14 for U-238 and C1-4 respectively for just 30 minutes of counting of the decay of a 5g sample. These counts should plot on a graph that reflects an exponential decay curve, yet with the such short observation times of individual samples, the data points would be on top of each other and impossible to determine the type of curve.
If the experiments proposed are carried out and showcase significant discrepancies, then the entire system of dating methods would need to be entirely redone or completely discarded. This is the introductory part of a study that would also include evaluating the effective ranges of the methods based on ability to count isotopes and the mathematical analysis of the error +/- factors to determine if the errors are really due to a consistent set of variables or something else. Further study would be to examine the accelerated decay proposal from R.A.T.E and an analysis on how aqueous leaching would affect measurements for the methods.
[1]: Postma, James. Chemistry In the Laboratory. W.H. Freeman Publishing. 2016
Disciplines
Geology
Keywords
radiometric dating, half-life, radioisotope dating, age of the earth, mathematical analysis
DOI
10.15385/jpicc.2023.9.1.81
Print Reference
693
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Recommended Citation
Wolcott, Charles A. Jr.
(2023)
"Re-Evaluating the Measurements of Radioactive Decay,"
Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism: Vol. 9, Article 69.
DOI: 10.15385/jpicc.2023.9.1.81
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings/vol9/iss1/69
Submission Type
poster