Posted: Aug 28, 2013 7:09 pm
Transilvanian wrote:http://ncse.com/cej/3/2/answers-to-creationist-attacks-carbon-14-dating
SO what is the explanasion for C14 isotope in millions yrs objects? Because with my English is hard to understand...
In one simple sentence.
Transilvanian,
It helps to understand decay and half-life. Half life is not half of the total life of ALL the atoms in an object.
Here is an example:
Let's say an apple has a half life of 1 hour....
Take a whole apple.
Wait 1 hour before cutting it in half and eating that half. That is a half life of 1 hour meaning half is left after an hour.
Now wait another hour and cut that half in half again (1/4).
Eat that quarter.
You still have a quarter left after 2 whole hours.
Wait another hour and cut that quarter in half and eat one. You still have 1/8th left after 3 whole hours.
Keep doing that until you get down to two atoms of apple and MUCH MUCH more time has passed than just the hour.
That is how half life works, and that is why stuff that has a half lives of thousands of years can still leave trace amounts after billions of years.