The overall reliability of radiometric dating was addressed in some detail in a recent book by Brent Dalrymple, an expert in the field. So are radiometric methods foolproof? As with any experimental procedure in any field of science, measurements are subject to certain “glitches” and “anomalies”, as noted in the literature. Wikimedia Commons Reliability of radiometric dating Samarium/Neodymium isochron of samples from the Great Dyke, Zimbabwe. The graphic below gives the general idea, and more technical detail can be found here. The slope of the line determines the age of the rock, and the closeness of fit is a measure of the statistical reliability of this conclusion. Radiometric dating is self-checking, because the data (after certain preliminary calculations are made) are fitted to a straight line (called an isochron) by means of standard linear regression methods of statistics. The phenomenon of radioactivity is rooted in the fundamental laws of physics and follows simple mathematical formulae, taught to all calculus students.ĭating schemes based on rates of radioactivity have been refined and scrutinised over several decades, and the latest high-tech equipment permits reliable results to be obtained even with microscopic rock samples. While there are numerous experimental methods used to determine geologic ages, the most frequently employed technique is radiometric dating, based on measurements of various radioactive isotopes in rocks. Such notions, of course, differ vastly to the findings of modern science, which pegs the age of the earth at 4.56 billion years, and the age of the universe at 13.75 billion years. (By contrast, and more representative of OECD countries, only about half as many Canadians espouse such beliefs.)
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