How Old is the Earth's Crust?
This article is about the early history of life on earth and opens the door to the possibility of the Biblical story of the great flood being true. We will show that the flood can be dated to several thousands of years ago – not millions of years ago. The key is Carbon-14.
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We don’t know if God spoke our planet into existence or if God simply went looking through our galaxy for a planet that was well situated in terms of distance from the sun and favorable for life. (Note that it would also have to have a nicely situated moon. Anyone who has read the book “What if the Earth Had No Moon?” knows what I’m talking about.)
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While most people believe that the earth (including the uppermost layers) is millions of years old, there is substantial evidence that the earth’s crust is not nearly so old.
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Excavation sites where biological samples (plants or animals) that are found contain secret little timers in the form of carbon-14 atoms that are embedded in the samples.
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Carbon-14 is a rare isotope of carbon, and every atom of carbon-14 is a ticking clock. Normal carbon contains 12 protons and neutrons in its nucleus. But the isotopic form of carbon contains 14 protons.
Most of the carbon on Earth is carbon-12. A tiny fraction of the carbon on Earth is carbon-13. And a miniscule portion of carbon is carbon-14. In fact, only one out of every trillion carbon atoms are carbon-14. That is rare indeed!
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Carbon-14 is special, as it is slightly unstable. An individual unit of carbon-14 can spontaneously change into normal carbon at any moment. I say “at any moment” with tongue in cheek. The average lifespan of a carbon-14 molecule is 5,730 years.
What does this mean for us?
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It means that we can learn something about the age of the earth’s crust.
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Plants and animals use carbon. In fact, carbon is the basis of all the life on earth, and we have all heard the expression “carbon-based life forms”.
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A surprising portion of our bodies are made up of carbon. How much? Approximately 23 percent of our body weight. So, the body content of carbon for a 70-kg person would be about 16-kg.
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When plants and animals die, that carbon remains imbedded in the residue. Some of that carbon -- an infinitesimal portion – is Carbon-14.
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Plant and animal residue that happens to become embedded in the rocks and soil is a ticking clock – a very, very slow ticking clock. In fact, the decay process takes thousands of years.
Why does it help to know this?
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Knowing that carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,730 years means half of the original amount of Carbon-14 will remain in a sample after 5,730 years. After another 5,730 years have passed, or 11,460 years total, only a quarter of the original Carbon-14 will remain. And so on…
In theory, the total amount of Carbon-14 in the environment will never completely decay to zero, but after about 10 half-lives (or around 57,300 years), the amount of Carbon-14 left in a sample would be so small that it would be effectively undetectable.
Is that what scientists see?
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In fact, no. Carbon-14 can be found in many biological samples, and this has proved to be a versatile technique of dating fossils and archaeological specimens from 500 to 50,000 years old.
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Samples that have been radiocarbon dated since the inception of the method include charcoal, wood, twigs, seeds, bones, shells, leather, peat, lake mud, soil, hair, pottery, pollen, wall paintings, corals, blood residues, fabrics, paper or parchment, resins, and water, among others.
It's important to note that Carbon-14 never completely disappears from a specimen. Even after many half-lives, trace amounts of Carbon-14 will still be detectable. However, for practical purposes, scientists often consider a sample to be devoid of Carbon-14 after about 10 half-lives, which is around 57,300 years. At this point, the amount of Carbon-14 remaining in the sample is so small that it is difficult to detect using standard methods.
Two famous examples of radiocarbon dating are the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Shroud of Turin. The Dead Sea Scrolls were dated to between 8th century and 11th century BCE, while the date of the Shroud of Turin appears to be inconclusive at this time.
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Conclusion
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Scientists believe that the earth – including its crust – is millions of years old. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say that the earth’s crust is simply one million years old. If that’s true, how much Carbon-14 should be present in biological specimens that are found in archaeological digs?
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Practically none. The reasoning goes like this: During the one million years, how many times will the amount of Carbon-14 be cut in half? That’s easy. One million divided by 5,700 equals 175. The store of Carbon-14 will be cut in half 175 times. That means, for all intents and purposes, there will be no Carbon-14 left.
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However, that is not what we find. The amount of Carbon-14 present in biological samples from archeological digs is significant -- well above expected numbers -- which leads us to conclude that the earth -- in terms of the top layers -- is relatively young.
Want to learn more? Check out this excellent article:
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Rethinking Carbon-14 Dating: What Does It Really Tell Us About the Age of the Earth?
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https://www.icr.org/article/7311
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This one is excellent as well:
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating
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By the way, blood, collation and other biomaterials exist in many dinosaur fossils. This shouldn’t be possible if the fossils were millions of years old.