Radiometric Dating
Radiometric dating measures the decay of radioactive atoms to determine the age of a rock sample. It is founded on unprovable assumptions such as 1) there has been no contamination and 2) the decay rate has remained constant. By dating rocks of known ages which give highly inflated ages, geologists have shown this method can’t give reliable absolute ages.
Radiometric Clock
Many geologists claim that radiometric “clocks” show rocks to be millions of years old. However, to read any clock accurately we must know where the clock was set at the beginning.
Radiometric Dating and the Age of the Earth
Most people think that radioactive dating has proven the earth is billions of years old. After all, textbooks, media, and museums glibly present ages of millions of years as fact. Yet few people know how radiometric dating works or bother to ask what assumptions drive the conclusions.
Radiometric Dating Accurate?
Is the earth approximately four billion years old? This figure wasn’t established by radiometric dating of the earth itself. Most people are not aware of this.
Radiohalos
Radiohalos shouldn’t exist, according to conventional wisdom! Though they are very tiny, polonium radiohalos have a huge message that cannot be ignored. They point to a catastrophic origin for granites, consistent with the biblical timeframe for earth history and God’s judgment during the Flood.
Articles About Radiometric Dating
-
Technical In-Depth ArticleThe Relevance of Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and Pb-Pb Isotope Systematics to Elucidation of the Genesis and History of Recent Andesite Flows at Mt. Ngauruhoe, New Zealand, and Implications for Radioisotopic DatingJan. 6, 2010 from Answers in Depth
Mt. Ngauruhoe in the Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand erupted andesite lava flows in 1949 and 1954, and avalanche deposits in 1975.
PDF Download -
Technical In-Depth ArticleThe Cause of Anomalous Potassium-Argon “Ages” for Recent Andesite Flows at Mt. Ngauruhoe, New Zealand, and the Implications for Potassium-Argon “Dating”Dec. 30, 2009 from Answers in Depth
Mt. Ngauruhoe is an andesite stratovolcano, rising above the Tongariro volcanic massif within the Tongariro Volcanic Center of the Taupo Volcanic Zone.
PDF Download -
Technical In-Depth ArticleU-Th-Pb “Dating”: An Example of False “Isochrons”Dec. 9, 2009 from Answers in Depth
As with other isochron methods, the U-Pb isochron method has been questioned in the open literature.
PDF Download -
Technical In-Depth ArticleRadiohalos and DiamondsSept. 9, 2009 from Answers in Depth
We offer an explanation for the radiohalos and for the “tubes” in these diamonds in terms of a hydrothermal fluid transport model for Po radiohalo formation.
PDF Download -
In-Depth ArticleRadiohalos in the Cooma Metamorphic Complex, New South Wales, AustraliaSept. 2, 2009 from Answers in Depth
The Cooma granodiorite was generated as a consequence of the regional metamorphism that resulted from the catastrophic large-scale emplacement during the catastrophic plate tectonics of the Flood.
PDF Download -
Technical In-Depth ArticleRadiohalos in the Shap Granite, Lake District, EnglandAug. 26, 2009 from Answers in Depth
The Po radiohalos and other evidence associated with this granite thus remove objections to Flood geology and any need to place the Flood/post-Flood boundary in the lower Carboniferous.
PDF Download -
Technical In-Depth ArticleRadiohalos—A Tale of Three Granitic PlutonsAug. 19, 2009 from Answers in Depth
The origin and significance of radiohalos have been debated for almost a century, perhaps largely because their geological distribution has been poorly understood.
PDF Download -
Oct. 1, 2008 from Answers Magazine
The chemical data used in the radiometric dating method requires interpretation, which is sure to be wrong if Biblical data is ignored.
-
Feedback ArticleQuestioning the Reliability of the RATE Group and Its FindingsNov. 16, 2007 from Feedback
A feedback submitter suggests that the RATE team was dishonest because “[t]hey already know the truth [and] the facts that they find will reflect their presuppositions.”
-
In-Depth ArticleRadioisotopes and the Age of the EarthOct. 31, 2007 from Answers in Depth
The RATE research project demonstrated that creationists could support a larger-scale collaborative research effort.
PDF Download -
Book ChapterDoes Radiometric Dating Prove the Earth Is Old?Oct. 4, 2007 from The New Answers Book 1
Many accept radiometric methods as proof that the earth is millions of years old, in contrast to the biblical timeline. Mike Riddle exposes the unbiblical assumptions used in these calculations.
-
Radiometric Dating—Not InfallibleJune 1, 2007 from Responding to Protestors’ Propaganda
There are plenty of indications that these radiometric dating methods are not as infallible as they would have you believe!
-
June 28, 2006 from Answers Magazine
Deep in the eastern Grand Canyon, Arizona, is a stacked sequence of “ancient” basalt lava flows known by geologists as the Cardenas Basalt.
-
Feedback ArticleRadioisotope Dating of Rocks in the Grand CanyonApril 14, 2006 from Feedback
Was Dr. Andrew Snelling “irresponsible” for pointing out dating discrepancies at the Grand Canyon?
-
RATE Strikes at the Heart of EvolutionSept. 13, 2005
The RATE team has confirmed the trustworthiness of Scripture, thus upholding its authority, and has shown that the battle is not between science and the Bible.
-
Magazine ArticleRadioisotope Dating of Rocks in the Grand CanyonJune 1, 2005, pp. 44–49
The radioisotope methods, long touted as irrefutably dating the earth as countless millions of years old, have repeatedly failed to give reliable and meaningful absolute ages for Grand Canyon rocks.
-
Technical Research PaperNational Geographic Plays the Dating GameApril 1, 2002, pp. 48–50
A recent National Geographic article fails to portray the commonly used age-determination methods either accurately or objectively.
-
Research PaperRating RadiodatingAug. 1, 2001, pp. 31–32
A group of young-Earth researchers called RATE (Radioisotopes and the Age of The Earth) are investigating radioactive dating methods and developing alternative young-Earth explanations.
-
Research PaperBillion-Fold Acceleration of Radioactivity Demonstrated in LaboratoryAug. 1, 2001, pp. 4–6
Billion-Fold Acceleration of Radioactivity Shown in Laboratory
-
Magazine ArticleRadio-Dating in RubbleJune 1, 2001, pp. 23–25
Radioisotope dating conveys an aura of reliability both to the general public and professional scientists. But is the method all it’s cracked up to be?
-
Magazine ArticleCountering the CriticsJune 1, 2001, pp. 24–25
Understandably, Dr Austin’s devastating research into radioisotopic dating has been criticized by those who believe in millions of years.
-
Magazine ArticleMore and More Wrong DatesJune 1, 2001, pp. 24–25
Is this dating failure from Mount St Helens an isolated case of radioisotope dating giving wrong results for rocks of known age? Certainly not!
-
Technical Research PaperContra Rb-Sr DatingApril 1, 2001, pp. 112–125
It is important that alternative models are developed to explain the observed patterns of strontium isotopes.
-
Technical Research PaperNew Record of Polonium Radiohalos, Stone Mountain Granite, Georgia (USA)April 1, 2001, pp. 86–88
The Stone Mountain granite samples in this study yielded no zircon crystals and no diffuse radiation stains. These data are insufficient to determine the timing and mode of formation of these radiohal
Support the creation/gospel message by donating or getting involved!
Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.
- Customer Service 800.778.3390
- Available Monday–Friday | 9 AM–5 PM ET
- © 2026 Answers in Genesis