Novarupta erupted in Alaska in 1912, the largest volcanic explosion of the 20th century. Rock samples from that eruption were later sent to the Mexico Geochronological Research Lab. The result? Even though the rock was only about 100 years old, radiometric dating gave ages of over 5 million years. This is not an isolated problem. When scientists date rocks of known age, the dates consistently come out wrong. Radiometric dating assumes starting conditions, constant decay rates, and closed systems
1:49
Novarupta erupted in Alaska in 1912, the largest volcanic explosion of the 20th century. Rock samples from that eruption were later sent to the Mexico Geochronological Research Lab. The result? Even though the rock was only about 100 years old, radiometric dating gave ages of over 5 million years. This is not an isolated problem. When scientists date rocks of known age, the dates consistently come out wrong. Radiometric dating assumes starting conditions, constant decay rates, and closed systems
20.7K views8 months ago
FacebookCreation Today
See more
Static thumbnail place holder