Radiometric age dating formula

Until recently, only large scientific laboratories could afford mass spectrometers, which are the principal tool used to measure dates of rock samples.But recently the prices of these devices have dropped to levels that even amateur meteorite hunters and others can afford.The slope of the line determines the date, and the closeness of fit is a measure of the statistical reliability of the resulting date.Technical details on how these dates are calculated are given in Radiometric dating. As with any experimental procedure in any field of science, these measurements are subject to certain “glitches” and “anomalies,” as noted in the literature.A 2010 Gallup poll found that 40% of Americans believe that “God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years” [Newport2010].A 2009 poll found that 39% agreed that “God created the universe, the earth, the sun, moon, stars, plants, animals and the first two people within the past 10,000 years.” [Bishop2010].

Radiometric dating is self-checking, because the data (after certain preliminary calculations are made) are fitted to a straight line (an “isochron”) by means of standard linear regression methods of statistics.147] has highlighted the fact that measurements of specimens from a 1801 lava flow near a volcano in Hualalai, Hawaii gave apparent ages (using the Potassium-Argon method) ranging from 160 million to 2.96 billion years, citing a 1968 study [Funkhouser1968].In the particular case that Morris highlighted, the lava flow was unusual because it included numerous xenoliths (typically consisting of olivine, an iron-magnesium silicate material) that are foreign to the lava, having been carried from deep within the earth but not completely melted in the lava.There are well over forty different radiometric dating methods, and scores of other methods such as tree rings and ice cores.All of the different dating methods agree — they agree a great majority of the time over millions of years of time.