Difference between revisions of "Evidence against a recent creation"
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== Weathering rinds == | == Weathering rinds == | ||
| − | Weathering rinds are layers of weathered material that develop on glacial rocks. The weathering is caused by the oxidation of magnesium and iron rich minerals and the thickness of this layer correlates with the age of a sample. Certain weathering rinds on basalt and andesite rocks in the eastern [[United States]] are believed to have taken over 300 years to form.<ref>Bryn Hubbard, Neil F. Glasser (2005). "Field Techniques in Glaciology and Glacial Geomorphology". John Wiley and Sons, United States. Page 355. ISBN 0470844264.</ref> | + | Weathering rinds are layers of weathered material that develop on glacial rocks. The weathering is caused by the oxidation of magnesium and iron rich minerals and the thickness of this layer correlates with the age of a sample. Certain weathering rinds on basalt and andesite rocks in the eastern [[United States]] are believed to have taken over 300 thousand years to form.<ref>Bryn Hubbard, Neil F. Glasser (2005). "Field Techniques in Glaciology and Glacial Geomorphology". John Wiley and Sons, United States. Page 355. ISBN 0470844264.</ref> |
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 03:34, 13 October 2007
There is now so much evidence against a recent creation that it is overwhelming. This has led to many advances in science, now that the true time spans for processes to take place in are known.
Ice layering
Ice layering is a phenomenon that is almost universally observed in ice sheets and glaciers where the average temperature does not rise above freezing temperatures. As the ice is laid down, differences in temperature and irradiance cause the ice to form differently, which will appear as alternating layers of light and dark. This method is considered a relatively accurate way to measure the age of an ice sheet, as only one layer will form per year. While there have been a few cases where several layers have formed per year, these incidents do not challenge the ability of ice layering to provide a minimum age, because false layers can be discerned under close inspection from the real thing. Currently the most layers found in a single ice sheet is over 700,000, which clearly contradicts the idea of an earth less then 10,000 years old. Even if an error as great as 1000% is assumed, the ages of ice sheets provided by this method are still far older then young earth creationists allow.[1]
Radiometric decay
Radiometric decay is the constant decay of unstable atoms into more stable isotopes or elements. Measurements of atomic decay is generally considered one of the most accurate ways to measure the age of an object and is the basis for the scientifically accepted age of the earth. There are many different variations of the radiometric dating technique such as radiocarbon, argon-argon, iodine-xenon, lanthanum-barium, lead-lead, lutetium-hafnium, neon-neon, potassium-argon, rhenium-osmium, rubidium-strontium, samarium-neodymium, uranium-lead, uranium-lead-helium, uranium-thorium, and uranium-uranium, of which every single one will date objects far older than 10,000 years.[2]
As the most used method to determine age radiometric dating techniques are under constant attack from young earth supporters. The most used method of attack is giving examples of objects of known ages that were dated incorrectly. These instances are the exception rather then the rule though, there are countless times where objects of a known age were dated correctly. Just because something has failed once does not automatically mean it fails all the time.
Relativistic Jets
A relativistic jet is a jet of plasma that gets ejected from some quasars and galaxy centers that have a powerful magnetic field. It is conjectured that the jets are driven by the twisting of magnetic fields in an accretion disk (the plate like cloud of matter) found encircling many celestial objects. In super massive bodies, immensely strong magnetic fields force plasma from the accretion disk into a jet that shoots away perpendicular to the face of the disk. These columns of plasma have, in some cases, been found to extend far enough to refute the idea of a young universe.
For example, the quasar PKS 1127-145 has a relativistic jet exceeding one million light years in length.[3] Because the speed of light cannot be exceeded by any known form of matter, this column must be at least one million years old. QED
Erosion
The Grand Canyon, using the normal rate of erosion seen in water, would have taken millions of years to form. Young Earthers insist it was cut in a few years following the Great Flood, a speed of erosion never observed in any material harder or less water-soluble than granulated sugar.
Coral
Coral formations take a long time to grow. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority estimates that the great barrier reef began over 600,000 years ago and that the current growths of coral to be found at that location began around 20,000 years ago.[4]
Thermoluminescence dating
Thermoluminescence dating is a method for determining the age of objects containing crystalline minerals such as ceramics or lava. This techniques can date objects up to 230,000 years ago but is only accurate on objects 300 to 10,000 years in age, which is still over 4,000 years older then the creationist figure for the age of the earth.[5][6]
Impact craters
The number of impact craters can provide an extremely probable lower limit on the age of the Earth. Asteroid strikes that can produce craters on an order of kilometers across are extremely infrequent occurrences; the chance of an asteroid with an Earth-crossing orbit actually striking the planet has been estimated at 2.5 x 10-9 yr-1, and when multiplied by the estimated number of earth crossing asteroids this approximates about one collision for every 3.2 million years.[7] If this frequency is correct, and there is no reason not to believe otherwise, the number of impact craters on Earth were it only a few thousand years old should be very few. The most logical number of observable one km+ impact craters for a young earth would in fact be a something like zero — a number that is completely at odds with the observable evidence, since over one hundred such craters have been discovered .[8]
Continental drift
Based on the continuity of fossil deposits and other geological formations between the South American and African tectonic plates, there is evidence that at some point in history the two continents were part of the same landmass. Because tectonic drift is an incredibly slow process, the separation of the two landmasses would have taken millions of years. Satellite data has shown that the continents are diverging at a rate of roughly 2 cm per year, which means that for the two continents to have been together at some point in history, as all the evidence shows, the drift must have been going on for at least 200 million years.[9]
Fission track dating
Fission track dating is a radiometric dating techniques that can be used to determine the age of uranium containing crystalline minerals. As uranium decays it sends out atomic fragments which will leave a scar or "fission track" in the crystalline structure. Because decaying uranium emits fragments at a constant rate the number of fission tracks correlates with the age of the object. [10] This method is generally held to be accurate as it shows a high degree of concordance with other methods such as potassium-argon dating.[11]
Space weathering
Space weathering is an effect that is observed on most asteroids. Extraterrestrial objects tend to develop a red tint as they age due to the effects of cosmic radiation and micrometer impacts on their surfaces. Because this process proceeds at a constant rate, observing the color of an object can provide basis for a generally reliable estimate. The ages provided by this dating technique exceed millions of years.[12]
Lake Suigetsu diatom varves
Diatoms (calcerous algae) in Lake Suigetsu, Japan die each season and leave a white layer in the mud as the dead organisms sink to the bottom. Because the algae only go through one die off per year and there are over 29,000 layers it can be assumed that the lake is upwards of around 30,000 years old. [13]
Stalactites
A stalactite is a mineral deposit that can form in limestone caves, among other places. Their growth is overall incredibly slow and even some of the more modest formations take tens of thousands of years to form.[14]
Geomagnetic reversals
A geomagnetic reversal is a change in the polarity of the earth's magnetic field. The strength of the earth's magnetic field will decay until such an event occurs, where the polarity of the field flips and is then replenished in strength. The frequency at which these reversals occur varies greatly, but they usually come about once every 50,000-800,000 years and take thousands of years for the process that drives the reversal to execute,[15] a fact that is inconsistent with the young earth idea; around 171 reversals are geologically documented, which would make the earth at least several millions of years old.[9]
Length of the prehistoric day
Work by John W. Wells of Cornell University, New York has shown that certain pieces of extremely old coral show evidence of having grown at a time when a year had 400 days of 22 hours each.[16] Based on the annual slowdown of earth rotation the coral has been calculated to be about 370 million years old, a date that corresponds very well with radiometric dating of the coral.[14]
Naica megacrystals
The Naica Mine of Chihuahua, Mexico is home of some of the largest gypsum crystals on earth. Specimens in the area have been found to exceeded 11 meters in length and 1 meter in width. Based on classical crystal growth theory these crystals are older than one million years.[17]
Weathering rinds
Weathering rinds are layers of weathered material that develop on glacial rocks. The weathering is caused by the oxidation of magnesium and iron rich minerals and the thickness of this layer correlates with the age of a sample. Certain weathering rinds on basalt and andesite rocks in the eastern United States are believed to have taken over 300 thousand years to form.[18]
References
- ↑ Matt Brinkman (1995). "Ice Core Dating"(TalkOrigins). Accessed October 8, 2007.
- ↑ Chris Stassen (1996-2005)."The Age of the Earth"(TalkOrigins). Accessed October 9, 2007.
- ↑ Ron Cowen (2002)."X-Ray Universe: Quasar's jet goes the distance". Science News 161: 101.
- ↑ A “big picture” view of the Great Barrier Reef
- ↑ "Thermoluminescence"(Minnesota state university). Retrieved on September 30, 2007.
- ↑ Thomas Berger (2001)."Thermoluminescence dating"(ATOMINSTITUT). Retrieved on September 30, 2007.
- ↑ Shoemaker, Eugene M (1983). "Asteroid and comet bombardment of the earth". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 11: 461-494.
- ↑ Impact Structures listed by Diameter
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Laurie R. Godfrey (1983). "Scientists confront creationism". W. W. Norton & Company, Canada. Pages 35-36. ISBN 0393301540.
- ↑ "Fission track"(Minnesota state university). Retrieved on September 30, 2007.
- ↑ Johns, Warren H. (1977). "THE IMPACT OF TEKTITES UPON AN ESTIMATED 700,000 YEAR HISTORY OF DEEP-SEA DEPOSITS"(Geoscience Research Institute). Retrieved on September 30, 2007.
- ↑ Robert Jedicke, David Nesvorny , Robert Whiteley, Z eljko Ivezic & Mario Juric.(2004) "An age–colour relationship for main-belt S-complex asteroids" Nature 429: 275-277
- ↑ Hiroyuki Hitagawai, Johannes van Derplicht (1998). "A 40,000-YEAR CHRONOLOGY FROM LAKE SUIGETSU, JAPAN: VARVE EXTENSION OF THE CALIBRATION CURVE". Radiocarbon 40: 505-515.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Dave E. Matson (1994-2002). "How Good Are Those Young-Earth Arguments?"(Talk.Origins). Accessed October 6, 2007.
- ↑ "Geomagnetic reversal" (2007, August 26), from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07:37, October 6, 2007.
- ↑ Wells, John W. (1963). CORAL GROWTH AND GEOCHRONOMETRY. Nature 197: 948 - 950.
- ↑ Fermín Otálora, Angels Canals, Carlos Ayora, Roberto Villasuso, Juan Manuel García-Ruiz (2007). "Formation of natural gypsum megacrystals in Naica, Mexico". Geology 35: 327-330.
- ↑ Bryn Hubbard, Neil F. Glasser (2005). "Field Techniques in Glaciology and Glacial Geomorphology". John Wiley and Sons, United States. Page 355. ISBN 0470844264.