The Potassium/Argon Dating Method

The Potassium Argon Dating Method

By Paul Nethercott

April 2014

How reliable is radiometric dating? We are repeatedly told that it proves the Earth to be billions of years old. If radiometric dating is reliable than it should not contradict the evolutionary model. According to the Big Bang theory the age of the Universe is 10 to 15 billion years.¹ Standard evolutionist publications give the age of the universe as 13.75 Billion years. ^{2, 3}

Standard evolutionist geology views the Earth as being 4.5 billion years old. Here are some quotes from popular text: “The age of the Earth is 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years.” ⁴“The Solar System, formed between 4.53 and 4.58 billion years ago.”¹ “The age of 4.54 billion years found for the Solar System and Earth.”¹“A valid age for the Earth of 4.55 billion years.”^{5, 6}

Potassium Argon Dating of Iron Meteorites

This article summarised meteorite dating in 1967. ⁷ Even 40 years later things are no better. In the opening paragraph he states that the iron meteorite from Weekeroo Station is date at ten billion years old. He then continues: “The formation or solidification ages of iron meteorites have never been well determined.” ⁸He then cites earlier dating which produced an age of seven billion years. ⁹The author concludes with the following remark: “The ages found by us are typical of the great ages found for most iron meteorites. From these, in conjunction with the Strontium: Rubidium data of Wasserburg et al. on silicate inclusions in this meteorite, we conclude that the potassium: argon dating technique as applied to iron meteorites gives unreliable results.” ¹⁰

Table 1

Meteorite	Age
Sample	Billion Years
Neutron Activation	10.0
Stoenner and Zahringer	7.0
Muller and Ziihringer's	6.3
Wasserburg, Burnett	4.7
K-1	8.5
K-2	9.3
B-1	6.5
G-1	10.4

Potassium-Argon age of Iron Meteorites

If we compare the dates below with the previous two tables [Tables 6 and 7] we see that dating done on meteorites has not improved in fifty years! The dates below [Table 8] were dating done in 1958 by scientists from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York. ¹¹These dates ¹² are just as stupid as the previous two tables. The choice of 4.5 billion years as an “absolute” value is purely and arbitrary choice.

Table 2

Meteorite	Age
K-Ar Dating	Billion Years
Mt. Ayliff	6.9
Arispe	6.8
H. H. Ninninger	6.9
Carbo	8.4
Canon Diablo I	8.5
Canon Diablo I	6.9
Canon Diablo I	6.6
Canon Diablo I	5.3
Canon Diablo II	13
Canon Diablo II	11
Canon Diablo II	10.5
Canon Diablo II	12
Toluca I	5.9
Toluca I	7.1
Toluca II	10
Toluca II	10.8
Toluca II	8.8

Fission-Track Ages Of Four Meteorites

Six different meteorites were dated in 1976 by scientists from the Enrico Fermi Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. ¹³ The dates [Table 29] varied by almost one thousand percent! ⁶³ If we look at table 3 we can see the four methods used [Fission Track, Potassium-Argon, Uranium-Helium and Rubidium-Strontium] and the discordance between them.¹⁴

Table3

Sample	Maximum Age	Minimum Age	Age Difference	Percent
Name	Billion Years	Billion Years	Billion Years	Difference
Bondoc	1.30	0.14	1.16	929%
Mincy	3.93	1.50	2.43	262%
Nakhla	4.40	0.77	3.63	571%
Serra	2.70	0.54	2.16	500%
Washougal	4.60	4.00	0.60	115%
Allende	4.50	3.60	0.90	125%

Table 4

Meteorite	Fission Track	K-Ar	U-He	Rb-Sr
Name	Billion Years	Billion Years	Billion Years	Billion Years
Bondoc	0.14	1.30	0.60
Mincy	1.50	3.93
Nakhla	4.40	1.30	0.77	3.60
Serra	0.54	2.70
Washougal	4.60	4.00
Allende	4.50	4.40		3.60

Ion Microprobe U-Pb Dating

These rocks from Japan were dated ¹⁵ in 2001 using the Rubidium/Strontium and Potassium/Argon method. If we run the isotopic ratios through Isoplot ¹⁶ and use formulas listed in standard geology books ¹⁷ we find that the rock samples ¹⁸gave ages between 5 billion years and negative years old! Since the Earth exists in the present how can rocks have formed in the future? How can a rock be older than the Earth? The author admits some of the dates are negative: “Though a negative age has no practical use, it does suggest that it is younger than 0.12 Ma.” ¹⁹

Table 5	Age	Age	Age
Data	206Pb/238U	207Pb/206Pb	Ratio
Average	62	4,710	76
Maximum	631	5,135	8
Minimum	0	3,771	3771

Table 6	Age	Age	Age
Data	206Pb/238U	207Pb/206Pb	Ratio
Average	0.88	4,742	5,388
Maximum	2.91	4,978	1,710
Minimum	0.25	4,479	17,916

The Long Valley Rhyolitic

These rocks from California were dated ²⁰ in 1997 using the Rubidium/Strontium and Potassium/Argon method. The rock samples gave ages between 1 million years and negative years old! Since the Earth exists in the present how can rocks have formed in the future? The author admits some of the dates are negative:

“The negative ages are a clear indication that some phases have not reached Sr isotope equilibration with their current host glass.” ²¹

“In contrast, feldspars from the second group yield mineral ages that are geologically unreasonable ranging from close to the eruption age of the Bishop Tuff to negative ages.” ²²

Rhenium-187/Osmium-187 In Iron Meteorites

The ¹⁸⁷Rhenium/¹⁸⁷Osmium method and Potassium-Argon method were used to date these meteorite ²³fragments in 1997. Four of the dates were older than the Solar System and two were older than the Galaxy. ²⁴

Table 7

Canyon Diablo Meteorite	Billion Years
Leach Acetone	5.73
Leach H,O	8.31
Troilite dissolved	10.43
Metal 1	13.7

Geochemistry of Hornblende Gabbros

These rock samples from Sonidzuoqi (Inner Mongolia, North China) were dated in 2008 by scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing using the Potassium/Argon and Uranium/Lead age dating. ²⁵The true age of the rock formation is supposed to be 500 million years old. “Limited hornblende K–Ar and SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages document the Late Silurian to Early Devonian gabbroic emplacement.” ²⁵“The Siluro-Devonian hornblende gabbros, together with a pre-490 Ma ophiolitic melange of MORB-OIB affinity, 483–471 Ma arc intrusions, 498–461 Ma trondhjemite-tonalite-granodiorite plutons, and 427–423 Ma calc-alkaline granites from the same area.” ²⁵The article contains a table ²⁶that has twenty eight ratios that have no dates beside them. Out of the twenty eight dates we calculated from these ratios there is a total disagreement with the so called ‘true age.’ Whichever date you choose for each meteorite as the true one is just a random guess.

Table 33	207Pb/206Pb	206Pb/238U	207Pb/235U	208Pb/232Th
Average	5,011	6,612	5,422	22,967
Maximum	5,014	7,297	5,648	24,397
Minimum	5,007	5,922	5,237	20,621