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Radiometric dating dates from the time something dies (stops exchanging carbon with the atmosphere to be precise), not from the time something is born.
Okay --- thanks.
Originally Posted by Patashu
I mean, what, did you really think there was an isotope in you that you only got at birth and has been decaying ever since? Really?
An element is defined by the number of protons in a nucleus. With that, you can get varying numbers of neutrona and still have the same element. the atomic number is number of protons, the mass number is the number of protons plus neutrons.
E.g. Hydrogen has one proton and one neutron. Deuterium has one proton and two neutrons. It is still hydrogen and found abundantly in the sea.
Carbon exists with a mass number of 14 and 16. the carbon 16 decays with time into carbon 14. By comparing the levels of carbon 16 and 14 we can tell how long these have been decaying for, as they decay at a very standard rate.
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LOL --- okay --- I just checked it out. Here's the 411 on isotope:
One of two or more atoms having the same atomic number but different mass numbers.
You mean someone messed up and gave the same element different mass numbers, then covered their mistake by calling it an "isotope"?
This from the man who claims he holds science to a higher standard than scientists do.
__________________ Reality is that which refuses to go away when I stop believing in it. - Philip K. Dick
You cannot reason a person out of position that they did not reason themselves into.
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Christian Fundamentalists and Muslim Fundamentalists seem to share the same basic goal - to overthrow the Constitutional Republic of the United States, and replace it with a fundamentalist theocracy.
An element is defined by the number of protons in a nucleus. With that, you can get varying numbers of neutrona and still have the same element. the atomic number is number of protons, the mass number is the number of protons plus neutrons.
E.g. Hydrogen has one proton and one neutron. Deuterium has one proton and two neutrons. It is still hydrogen and found abundantly in the sea.
Carbon exists with a mass number of 14 and 16. the carbon 16 decays with time into carbon 14. By comparing the levels of carbon 16 and 14 we can tell how long these have been decaying for, as they decay at a very standard rate.
You might want to clarify that last paragraph just a little further, and explain that decay rates are not uniform for all isotopes of an element. Carbon 16 has two extra neutrons in the nucleus, which alters the balance of nuclear forces between the individual particles in that nucleus. This makes it likely that, at some point in the lifetime of a Carbon 16 atom, the nucleus will emit particles and become a Carbon 14 atom. (No electrons were harmed in the making of this atom. )
__________________ Reality is that which refuses to go away when I stop believing in it. - Philip K. Dick
You cannot reason a person out of position that they did not reason themselves into.
"Maybe you can't reason someone out of a position they haven't reasoned themselves into, but apparently you can get them to run away and stick their head back in the sand." - Robbie-James-Francis
Christian Fundamentalists and Muslim Fundamentalists seem to share the same basic goal - to overthrow the Constitutional Republic of the United States, and replace it with a fundamentalist theocracy.
An element is defined by the number of protons in a nucleus. With that, you can get varying numbers of neutrona and still have the same element. the atomic number is number of protons, the mass number is the number of protons plus neutrons.
LOL --- okay --- I just checked it out. Here's the 411 on isotope:
One of two or more atoms having the same atomic number but different mass numbers.
You mean someone messed up and gave the same element different mass numbers, then covered their mistake by calling it an "isotope"?
Mass numbers are calculated by adding the number of neutrons and protons in the nucleus of an atom. 98.93% of all carbon atoms on this planet, for example, have 6 protons and 6 neutrons. The remaining 1.07% of carbon atoms have 6 protons and 7 neutrons, thus making them isotopes.
Nobody made a mistake.
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An element is defined by the number of protons in a nucleus. With that, you can get varying numbers of neutrona and still have the same element. the atomic number is number of protons, the mass number is the number of protons plus neutrons.
E.g. Hydrogen has one proton and one neutron. Deuterium has one proton and two neutrons. It is still hydrogen and found abundantly in the sea.
Carbon exists with a mass number of 14 and 16. the carbon 16 decays with time into carbon 14. By comparing the levels of carbon 16 and 14 we can tell how long these have been decaying for, as they decay at a very standard rate.
Actually, the typical hydrogen atom has no neutrons. Deuterium has one proton and neutron and tritium has one proton and two neutrons. And carbon typically has a mass of 12, carbon-14 is the heavier isotope for carbon.
Other than that, you are correct as to what an isotope is.
Just out of curiosity, if they came and radiometrically dated me right now, would they find that I'm 53 years old?
They would find that your C14 content closely matches that of the modern atmosphere. However, if they observed your skeletal features (bone shape, tooth wear, fusion joints in the skull) they would conclude that you were middle aged.
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