Exhibit 13B:  Dating Methods
What they don't tell you!

The Evolutionists themselves are aware of the many serious problems with Radioactive Dating Methods. They don't tell the public this when they use the dates as proof of Evolution.

The following text is from the web sites for New Mexico Geochronolgy Research Laboratory and Geochron Labs. You can see for yourself the deception that is involved.

[Comments or highlights are made in red.]




This page is currently, and probabaly will always be, under construction. The ideas and technologies in argon dating are ever changing, occasionally surmounting problems posed in the following discussion. It is a goal of this page to build a list of reference material available to anyone interested in a more comprehensive understanding of argon geochronology. A good start would be the book "Geochronology and Thermochronology by the 40Ar/39Ar Method" by McDougall and Harrison (1999).

The Potassium-Argon System


I. Overview
A. Isotopes of Potassium and Argon

The isotopes the KAr system relies on are Potassium (K) and Argon (Ar). Potassium, an alkali metal, the Earth's eighth most abundant element is common in many rocks and rock-forming minerals. The quantity of potassium in a rock or mineral is variable proportional to the amount of silica present. Therefore, mafic rocks or minerals often contain less potassium than an equal amount of silicic rock or mineral. Potassium can be mobilized into or out of a rock or mineral through alteration processes. Due to the relatively heavy atomic weight of potassium, insignificant fractionation of the different potassium isotopes occurs. However, the 40K isotope is radioactive and therefore will be reduced in quantity over time. But, for the purposes of the KAr dating system, the relative abundance of 40K is so small and its half-life is so long that its ratios with the other Potassium isotopes are considered constant.

Natural Abundances of Potassium and Argon Isotopes:


Argon, a noble gas, constitutes approximately 0.1-5% of the Earth's present day atmosphere. Because it is present within the atmosphere, every rock and mineral will have some quantity of Argon. Argon can mobilized into or out of a rock or mineral through alteration and thermal processes. Like Potassium, Argon cannot be significantly fractionated in nature. However, 40Ar is the decay product of 40K and therefore will increase in quantity over time. The quantity of 40Ar produced in a rock or mineral over time can be determined by substracting the amount known to be contained in the atmosphere. This is done using the constant 40Ar/36Ar ratio of atmospheric Argon. This ratio is 295.5.

B. Radioactive decay of parent isotope to daughter isotope

The nuclei of naturally occurring 40K is unstable, decaying at a constant rate (half-life = 1.25 billion years). The decay scheme is electron capture and positron decay. About 89% of the 40K atoms will decay to 40Ca. For the K/Ar dating system, this decay scheme to calcium isotopes is ignored. The remaining 11% of the 40K atoms decay to 40Ar. It is this scheme that makes the K/Ar method work.


The buildup of radiogenic 40Ar (40Ar*) in a closed system can be expressed by the equation:


II. The K/Ar Dating technique

A. General assumptions for the Potassium-Argon dating system

Certain assumptions must be satisfied before the age of mineral can be calculated with the Potassium-Argon dating technique. These are:

The material in question must be a closed system. In other words, no radiogenic 40Ar has escaped from the rock/mineral since it formed. In the case of a volcanic mineral, these means rapid cooling. [ This is a tremendous false assumption! ]
A correction must be made for atmospheric 40Ar (40Ar from the 40Ar/36Ar ratio = 295.5 subtracted).
No non-atmospheric 40Ar was incorporated into the rock/mineral during or after its formation. [ This is a tremendous false assumption! ]
The rock/mineral must be a closed system with respect to potassium.
The isotopes of Potassium in the rock/mineral have not been fractionated, except by 40K decay. [ This is a tremendous false assumption! ]
The decay constants of 40K are accurately known. [ They are being modified constantly! ]
The quantities of 40Ar and potassium in the rock/mineral are accurately determined.


B. The K/Ar age determination

Once the 40Ar and potassium in a rock/mineral are accurately measured, the amount of 40K (based on the relative abundance of 40K to total potassium) and 40Ar* (radiogenic 40Ar) must be calculated. The K/Ar method uses a spike of 38Ar mixed with the argon extracted from the rock/mineral to determine the 40Ar*. The resulting 40Ar* and 40K can be plugged into the age equation as follows:



C. Problems and Limitations of the K/Ar dating technique
Because the K/Ar dating technique relies on the determining the absolute abundances of both 40Ar and potassium, there is not a reliable way to determine if the assumptions are valid. Argon loss and excess argon are two common problems that may cause erroneous ages to be determined. Argon loss occurs when radiogenic 40Ar (40Ar*) produced within a rock/mineral escapes sometime after its formation. Alteration and high temperature can damage a rock/mineral lattice sufficiently to allow 40Ar* to be released. This can cause the calculated K/Ar age to be younger than the "true" age of the dated material. Conversely, excess argon (40ArE) can cause the calculated K/Ar age to be older than the "true" age of the dated material. Excess argon is simply 40Ar that is attributed to radiogenic 40Ar and/or atmospheric 40Ar. Excess argon may be derived from the mantle, as bubbles trapped in a melt, in the case of a magma. Or it could be a xenocryst/xenolith trapped in a magma/lava during emplacement.


Rocks and Minerals Available for 40Ar/39Ar Dating

  Volcanic   Plutonic   Metamorphic   Hydrothermal   Sedimentary

Rock/Mineral
Percent K2O
Advantages
Disadvantages

Anorthoclase
<3%
High potassium; Homogenous

Rare excess argon observed (melt inclusions)
Biotite/Phlogopite
~3%

Often easy to separate
Hydrous; May contain excess argon
Glass
variable
Common; Homogeneous; Easy to prepare
Alters easily; Susceptible to 39Ar recoil

Groundmass/Wholerock
variable

Very common; Easy to prepare/analyze
Inhomogeneous; May contain inherited argon (excess argon or xenocrysts); Often altered
Hornblende
<1%
Common
Low potassium; Hydrous; May contain excess argon
Plagioclase
<2%
Very common
Low potassium
Pyroxene
<1%
Common
Low potassium; Hydrous; May contain excess argon
Sanidine
>3%
High potassium; Very homogenous; Easy to separate/analyze
.
Biotite/Muscovite
3-7%
High potassium; Common; Often easy to separate
Hydrous; May contain excess argon
Hornblende
<1%
Common; Often easy to separate
Low potassium; Hydrous; May contain excess argon
Potassium Feldspar
>5%
High potassium; Common; Easy to separate
Rare excess argon observed (fluid inclusions)
Biotite/Muscovite
3-7%
High potassium; Common; Often easy to separate
Hydrous; May contain excess argon
Hornblende
<1%
Common; Often easy to separate
Low potassium; Hydrous; May contain excess argon
Alunite
.
Capable of dating low temperature
mineral deposition
Hydrous; susceptible to 39ArK recoil and reactor induced 40Ar loss
Jarosite
.
Capable of dating low temperature
mineral deposition
Hydrous; susceptible to 39ArK recoil and reactor induced 40Ar loss
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Glauconite
~3-5%
Capable of dating sedimentary deposition
Susceptible to 39ArK recoil and reactor induced 40Ar loss
       



[ Here is some more good reading that exposes this fraud...... ]

D. Some problems with the 40Ar/39Ar technique.

Standard Intercalibration - In order for an age to be calculated by the 40Ar/39Ar technique, the J parameter must be known. For the J to be determined, a standard of known age must be irradiated with the samples of unknown age. Because this (primary) standard ultimately cannot be determined by 40Ar/39Ar, it must be first determined by another isotopic dating method. [ with its false assumptions! ] The method most commonly used to date the primary standard is the conventional K/Ar technique. The primary standard must be a mineral that is homogeneous, abundant and easily dated by the K/Ar and 40Ar/39Ar methods. Traditionally, this primary standard has been a hornblende from the McClure Mountains, Colorado (a.k.a. MMhb-1). Once an accurate and precise age is determined for the primary standard, other minerals can be dated relative to it by the 40Ar/39Ar method. These secondary minerals are often more convenient to date by the 40Ar/39Ar technique (e.g. sanidine). However, while it is often easy to determine the age of the primary standard by the K/Ar method, it is difficult for different dating laboratories to agree on the final age. Likewise, because of heterogeneity problems with the MMhb-1 sample, the K/Ar ages are not always reproducible. This imprecision (and inaccuracy) is transferred to the secondary minerals used daily by the 40Ar/39Ar technique. Fortunately, other techniques are available to re-evaluate and test the absolute ages of the standards used by the 40Ar/39Ar technique. Some of these include other isotopic dating techniques (e.g. U/Pb) and the astronomical polarity time scale (APTS).

Decay Constants - Another issue affecting the ultimate precision and accuracy of the 40Ar/39Ar technique is the uncertainty in the decay constants for 40K. This uncertainty results from 1) the branched decay scheme of 40K and 2) the long half-life of 40K (1.25 billion years). As technology advances, it is likely that the decay constants used in the 40Ar/39Ar age equation will become continually more refined allowing much more accurate and precise ages to be determined.

J Factor - Because the J value is extrapolated from a standard to an unknown, the accuracy and precision on that J value is critical. J value uncertainty can be minimized by constraining the geometry of the standard relative to the unknown, both vertically and horizontally. The NMGRL does this by irradiating samples in machined aluminum disks where standards and unknowns alternate every other position. J error can also be reduced by analyzing more flux monitor aliquots per standard location.

39Ar Recoil - The affects of irradiation on potassium-bearing rocks/minerals can sometimes result in anomalously old apparent ages. This is caused by the net loss of 39ArK from the sample by recoil (the kinetic energy imparted on a 39ArK atom by the emission of a proton during the (n,p) reaction). Recoil is likely in every potassium-bearing sample, but only becomes a significant problem with very fine grained minerals (e.g. clays) and glass. For multi-phase samples such as basaltic wholerocks, 39ArK redistribution may be more of a problem than net 39ArK loss. In this case, 39Ar may recoil out of a low-temperature, high-potassium mineral (e.g. K-feldspar) into a high-temperature, low potassium mineral (e.g. pyroxene). Such a phenomenon would greatly affect the shape of the age spectrum.


[ From another web site called geochronlabs.com is a Sample Submission Form to request them to date a sample of a rock or other material. Again this is their own admission of the problems with radioactive dating methods: ]

INSTRUCTIONS FOR 14C SAMPLE SUBMISSION FORM

Sample Name/Provenience:A concise name for the site from which the sample was collected (including catalogue number if site is catalogued) and a brief description of provenience within the site (depth, horizon, feature, etc.).
Site Location:Geographical location of site, including latitude and longitude if available. Please be precise. [ They should be able to tell us the age without knowing where it came from. ]
Sample Material:Describe exactly what material is to be analyzed. (For example: charcoal, shell, bone, total carbonate, total organic matter, etc.)
Contaminants or Special Handling:Describe any special circumstances observed in the field which should be considered during the preparation of the sample for analysis. (For example: rootlet penetration, humic acids, secondary carbonate deposition, etc.) [ There probably is contamination. This whole method is flawed! ]
Estimated Age:Your best estimate of the age to be expected from the sample. [ So they can tell us what we want to hear? ]
Basis for Estimated Age:Give the basis for your age estimate. If based on other 14C dates, please specify them and their relationship to this sample. If based upon geological or stratigraphic reasoning, please elaborate. If sample is related to other samples previously dated, or currently submitted, please describe relationship.
Additional Information:Please add any additional information that may be of use in preparing the sample for analysis, or in evaluating the results of analysis as soon as they are available (see below). [ In order to further bias the outcome! ]

Radiocarbon dating is a process which destroys the original sample material, in many cases all of it, and the time to evaluate the analytical result is immediately after the counting is completed. If the results are questioned weeks or months later, there often is no way to re-count the sample or to recall the exact circumstances of laboratory procedures, sample preparation problems, etc. If we know what to expect, we can schedule the optimum counting time, examine the results immediately, and save the counting gas for checking if the result is unexpected. It is to your advantage to supply as much information as possible so that you will get the most reliable results possible.
Please print one or more copies of this form as necessary, using separate sheets for each sample submitted. Use reverse side of form, or attached sheets, if additional space is required for full sample description, instructions for processing, or description of the relationship of this sample to others submitted or to others previously dated. [ So they can try to keep their stories straight! ]

Back to Exhibit 13

If you don't believe God created all living things, male and female, in 6 days....
How many millions of years was it between the first male and the first female?