The Positives of Radioactive Carbon 14 Testing

This is a topic I haven’t seen written in very many places. Usually when the topic of radioactive dating methods comes up somewhere, the discussion gets bogged down in small details of one side or the other trying to rehash arguments that miss the main points. Also, it is quite difficult to find materials to read that stick to scientific facts and not go into philosophical debates.

But to kick this topic off, I will first highlight the two main problems cited on any method of radioactive dating methods whether it is Carbon-14, Rubidium-Strontium, Potassium-Argon or the various isochron tests. The first main problem deals with basic mathematical requirements especially where calculus is involved. In order to calculate any equation, you need all of the data for the variables in the equation or the calculations will be incomplete. These are those answers on your multiple choice questions for those math story problems, insufficient information.

You can complete the equation if you have data for those unknown variables. If that data amounts to an assumption or a guess, then the likelihood of calculating the correct answer is close to impossible. In basic terms, it was a waste of time and wrong.

That is the core of the problems with the radioactive dating processes. Assumptions are made on the starting sets of data to attempt to calculate a change. Granted we have the rate of change and the end set of data but without an accurate beginning set of data, the calculations are doomed to fail.

How can you get an accurate set of data to begin with? That is the other problem. We can’t. There are no measurements or direct observational data or experiment that can be done to determine how much of the parent or daughter materials were present at the onset. We weren’t there. That leaves the radioactive testing methods largely meaningless. If you wish to read the technical details, try this webpage and this webpage.

If those negatives are so big, then what are the positives of radioactive carbon-14 testing? Of all of the radioactive materials used for measurements, it has the shortest half-life. Depending on which resource you stand by, the presence of radioactive carbon-14 can be detected up to 50,000 to 90,000 years old. Again though, accurate dating is also flawed with starting assumptions but that doesn’t matter in this case.

Why not? Radioactive Carbon-14 gives us the potential of a true or false or yes or no test. When potential contamination of a sample can be minimized to negligible amounts, the results can tell us if Carbon-14 is present or not present in that formerly living object such as a non-fossilized bone, coal, diamond, or wood item. If it exists, then we know the object is less than 90,000 years old.

Depending on what is tested, that can completely ruin some philosophical stances and many dogmas held in some circles of the science community.

That is what makes it such a good test. Using the right test specimen makes the arguments boil down to plausible or wrong with this one test.