Most absolute age determinations in geology rely on radiometric methods. The earth is billions of years old. The main condition for the method is that the production rate of isotopes stays the same through ages, i. The production of isotopes from chemical elements is known as decay rate and it is considered a constant.

Major methods of isotopic dating



What Is Radioactive Dating, and How Does It Work?
A currently held paradigm of modern science is the old age of our universe and, specifically, our planet, Earth. About 4. After Earth cooled significantly over millions of years, life began to arise spontaneously. From that point on, evolution took place and continents moved until Earth and life is as we know it today. These ideas of billions of years and long ages arose strongly just a few hundred years ago.


Radioactive Dating
The nitty gritty on radioisotopic dating Radioisotopic dating is a key tool for studying the timing of both Earth's and life's history. Radioactive decay Radioisotopic dating relies on the process of radioactive decay, in which the nuclei of radioactive atoms emit particles. This releases energy in the form of radiation and often transforms one element into another. For example, over time, uranium atoms lose alpha particles each made up of two protons and two neutrons and decay, via a chain of unstable daughters, into stable lead.




Since the radioisotope dating techniques, discussed on this web page, do not date the fossil but the rock surrounding the fossil; We need to look at a different set of assumptions than is necessary when considering either C or Amino Acid dates. Evolutionists believe that the fossil will date the same as the surrounding rock because the radioisotope clock is generally thought to reset to zero. However, what would a Creationist need to assume or question when looking at this problem involving the reseting of the clock? When trying to understand Radioisotope Dating techniques from the short time perspective of the Creationary Paradigm, it is important that we understand the assumptions made by both the Scientific Community and the much smaller Creation Science Community. Introduction to Nuclear Reactions introduces you to topics such as: Average Nuclear Binding Energy and nuclide stability; What is it that drives fission, fusion, and other nuclear reactions; Types of Radioactive Decay: alpha, beta, gamma, positron, Summary of chariteristics; Nuclear Reactions; Nuclear Equations; Use nuclide charts to visually chart out nuclear reactions; U decay Series is shown on a Nuclide Chart.