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Index to Creationist Claims,  edited by Mark Isaak,    Copyright © 2004
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Claim CD004:

Cosmic rays and free neutrinos, such as might be produced by nearby supernovas or the reversal of the earth's magnetic field, might affect the decay rates of radioactive elements, invalidating such radiometric dating methods as carbon-14, uranium-lead, and potassium-argon.

Source:

Morris, Henry M., 1974. Scientific Creationism, Green Forest, AR: Master Books, pp. 142-143,146.

Response:

  1. Where is there the slightest bit of evidence that cosmic rays or neutrinos do affect decay rates? The following show the contrary:


  2. Radiation high enough to affect nuclear decay rates by several orders of magnitude (a change great enough to allow young-earth timescales) would sterilize the planet.

  3. Reversals of the earth's magnetic field do not produce cosmic rays or neutrinos. They may allow more cosmic rays to reach the earth's surface, but not much beyond that, and most rocks used for dating have been buried for most of their history.

  4. Carbon-14 dating is calibrated by independent clocks.

Further Reading:

Young, Davis A., 1988. Christianity and the Age of the Earth. Thousand Oaks, CA: Artisan Sales.
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created 2003-8-13, modified 2004-9-8