Radiocarbon dating is a lot more complicated than just counting beta decay.
As an archaeologist I send a lot of samples off for dating, and most of the tricky parts are in sample selection and interpretation of the results. The laboratory process is straightforward, but great care needs to be taken in sample preparation to eliminate contamination.
But if you are really interested, here are some good links:
ReligiousTolerance.org Carbon-14 Dating (C-14): Beliefs of New-Earth CreationistsRadiometric Dating: A Christian Perspective by Dr. Roger C. Wiens.
This site, BiblicalChronologist.org has a series of good articles on radiocarbon dating.
Are tree-ring chronologies reliable? (The Biblical Chronologist, Vol. 5, No. 1)
Tree Ring and C14 DatingHow does the radiocarbon dating method work? (The Biblical Chronologist, Vol. 5, No. 1)
How precise is radiocarbon dating?
Is radiocarbon dating based on assumptions?
Has radiocarbon dating been invalidated by unreasonable results?
Radiocarbon WEB-info Radiocarbon Laboratory, University of Waikato, New Zealand.
But wouldn't you agree that it's one of the simplist, and if a hobiest were to attempt any radiometric dating experiments, it would be the ideal one? I'm open to suggestions to a better one.
As an archaeologist I send a lot of samples off for dating,
Cool! I always wanted to meet a real life scientist! Can you tell me more? What lab to you usually send them to, and what does it cost? Also, what particular type of archaeology do you work in, and where? Very cool!
and most of the tricky parts are in sample selection and interpretation of the results.
Could you clarify selection and interpretation, here? As an archaeologist, do you do this selection and interpretation?
It wouldn't hurt to clarify that since the suggestion has been made in this thread that scientists select just the evidence that supports their belief.
Also, what do you mean by interpretation? I think radiocarbon dating is pretty well defined -- it should be a matter of science, I'm not sure why different people would interpret it in different ways.
The laboratory process is straightforward, but great care needs to be taken in sample preparation to eliminate contamination.
True enough.
But if you are really interested, here are some good links:
Thanks for the good links!
ReligiousTolerance.org Carbon-14 Dating
I must tease you a little here for refering me to a religious website about a scientific matter and in response to a scientific question.
Radiometric Dating: A Christian Perspective by Dr. Roger C. Wiens.
Haven't had the time to read this one clear through yet. (You provided me with lots of great material!)
This site, BiblicalChronologist.org has a series of good articles on radiocarbon dating.
I did read all the BiblicalCronologist.org links you provided. Very interesting. I also noticed that said website author seems to think that the evidence supports the idea that the Bible is historical, and this raised in my mind an interesting question:
If we were studying a long-lost area of science, and then somebody dug up an anchient sheepskin that talked about this same science from before the time that the knowledge had been lost, I'm pretty sure the scientists studying said science would want to read those old documents.
Similarly, if I (or anyone) do (does) find their obesrvations of the world around them to appear the result of an intelligent creation incident, it makes perfect sense that I would definitely read the Bible as a history book and see what was claimed to have been known before.
Radiocarbon WEB-info Radiocarbon Laboratory, University of Waikato, New Zealand.
Could you please be so kind as to point out where on this extensive site I would most likely find the information that would be most helpful in teaching me how to perform the excercise of carbon dating?
Radiocarbon -- full text of issues, 1959-2003.
This looks interesting, but it thousands of pages worth of material, a lot of which does't speak to my question (which was "how do I.."). Was there a particular issue I would be best to look in?
Thanks very much for the information. Incidentally, most of it was geared towards proving that radiocarbon dating works and is accurate. But my question wasn't whether it was accurate, but "How do I do it."
But I think I did gleam some clues -- C14 comes at about 1part per trillion as compared to non-radioactive carbons.
Now I just need to find out how many beta decays there are per million C14 per second, or however it's done.
I have always enjoyed hands-on experiments. When I was 15 or so I even managed to get (very soft) xrays from a burnt-out flashlight bulb and in another experiment I got soft xrays from a radio tube. (I was only using 20kv or so..) But I never was able to even try radiocarbon dating since I had no way to count the particles. But a couple years ago I got a little counter so I'd like to give it a try, even though I know that I won't be able to get exactly accurate results. It'd still be a fascinating experiment!
Thanks,
-Jesse