why is carbon dating still used when it's very inaccurate?

Question

scienctist have carbon dated living aminmals and got readings that they are milloins of years old. They also have carbon dated reamins that have been found and one part will date different than the other by millions of years. So how is this an accurate way of determining the age of an object?

Answer 1

Scientists have a very hard time of letting go of things that they have convinced themselves are 'accurate'. It's an ego thing, I'm afraid.

But you are right, there is enough evidence to clearly demonstrate that carbon dating is inaccurate. Too bad they don't tell this to our school children...

Answer 2

Carbon dating involves measuring the concentration of the radoactive isotope carbon-14. It is assumed that an organism will have roughly the same carbon-14 concentration while alive as it is constantly exchanging atoms. When the organism dies, it stops maintaining the carbon-14 levels, and the carbon-14 begins to decay into nitrogen.

The hale-life of carbon-14 is 5760 years. This is the amount of time that is takes for the concentration to halve. To go to one-fourth, it's two half-lifes, one-eighth takes three, etc.

Carbon dating is thus reasonably accurate for measuring periods of hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of years. However, once you get into the range of millions, the carbon-14 levels are so low that it would be difficult to pinpoint a time frame with any accuracy. However, there are other methods of dating that involve radioactive isotopes with longer half-lifes.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

With in a 100,000 year cycle the C-14 is very accurate, but what some people dont know is now for specimens ranging in older periods of earths history we can use Rare Earth Elements to date and have found that to be a very reliable source of data. Pollen off of flowers can also be used to date evens much like ash beds. But all in all the farther you go back the more gaps there will be in the record. Untill someone invents a time machine hahaha.

Answer 4

You asked an incorrect question. Carbon dating does not date matter back to more than 60,000 years. It is accurate to within a few years. If you want to date things going back millions or billions of years you need to use such things as Isochron and Radiometric.

Are you asking this question with some ulterior motive? Like a religious one? If you are learning this type of crap in a 'religious' setting then I feel sorry for you.

Answer 5

Because any "derived" dating scheme is subject to errors due to lack of calibration all you can do is estimate dates and then support those dates with associated information - when available.

The best answer is they still do it because it is generally okay - but if you ask them I suspect they'd never pin a date down conclusively.

A good scientist will include the "background and conditions" behind the dating process to insure the data is not misused. When supporting evidence appears the process gets tuned to provide more accurate results or better precautions.

Until something better comes along it is a reasonable tool...

Answer 6

definite. there are various sorts of relationship that were used on each and every thing from the lifeless Sea scrolls to the various manuscripts. The longer the time will develop into the a lot less precise the potential of those the right thanks to inform the right age of an merchandise will develop into. What eventually takes position is you commence throwing round wide numbers that haven't any way of being examined. i have self belief the universe is eons old. it really is older than any huge type guy can position on it. yet in coping with my youthful earth brothers I actual have a found some their arguments very a possibility. the biggest being the nature of sunshine and the way it impacts time. The Bible says gentle replaced after the flood of Noah. previously the flood gentle did not exist in a prismatic form. in straightforward words after the flood replaced into gentle replaced. The readings on the fringe of the wide-spread universe are returning findings exhibiting this gentle in straightforward words exists contained in the purple spectrum. the gentle on the fringe of the universe received't be prismatic. With the present discovery of neutrinos that holiday swifter than gentle and without delay through the earth, the old relationship techniques and information of sunshine were all placed into question. If gentle replaced faster or later in history then the numbers you take advantage of to promote an anti-creation agenda are very damaged.

Answer 7

The problem with aging of materials and why we get far fetched answer is because the proper parameters and limitation in the assumption of the problem are ususally grossly overlooked.
All mathemathical formula only have solution only within a certain range.
The resolution of carbon dating usually does not go beyond 5000 years.
There is the Arhenius equation and that also leaves a lot to be desired .

Answer 8

Because it IS accurate and the numbers can be and are checked against other dating methods for confirmation.

You need to learn about dating methods from people who haven't got a vested religious interest in claiming any particular age for the earth. Creationists are shameless liars who can't even keep their own bs straight.

Answer 9

I don't think you quite understand how carbon dating works. Here is a simple overview to get you started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dating

Carbon dating only shows age going back about 60,000 years - past that you have to use another method. So I'm not sure where you're pulling that "millions of years off" stuff from.

Answer 10

That's inaccurate. Carbon dating, when done correctly, is very accurate. Within a few years actually.

Answer 11

It is inexpensive and gives you a ballpark figure. If you are really interested, it is then possible to use other methods. For e.g. lets say you discover a bone fragment, which you think is old. You carbon date it and if it is proved that it is old, then you get more accurate dating done. If you realise that it is something your dog buried last month, then forget it.... lol