Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: blam
Has anyone carbon dated a fresh cadaver or fallen log lately? Just curious seeing the results.
11 posted on 08/19/2007 5:56:15 PM PDT by Musketeer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]


To: Musketeer
Has anyone carbon dated a fresh cadaver or fallen log lately? Just curious seeing the results.

I do a lot of radiocarbon dating so maybe I can take a whack at this.

A fresh cadaver would be heavily contaminated with post-atomic bomb carbon, and would not likely provide a reliable date. Further, extremely young dates are problematical because of the ± factor. Even if you have a very good range, say ±40 years, when you calibrate your date at two sigmas you have a range of about 80 years on either side of the intercept (center). So you could potentially get a calibrated date at two sigmas of AD 1860-2020. That's not of much use in determining if a cadaver was from WWI or WWII.

A fallen log could have quite an age range. Take either a redwood tree or a bristlecone pine from the White Mountains of southern California. Each could have wood going back from several to many thousand of years old. Archaeologists take these possibilities into account when dating charcoal.

Hope this helps.

15 posted on 08/19/2007 6:18:25 PM PDT by Coyoteman (Religious belief does not constitute scientific evidence, nor does it convey scientific knowledge.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies ]

To: Musketeer
Has anyone carbon dated a fresh cadaver or a fallen log lately...

Carbon Dating? Gross!

21 posted on 08/19/2007 6:25:56 PM PDT by fight_truth_decay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson