posted on Jun, 21 2006 @ 08:10 AM
Heir Doctor, I'm not too sure how familiar you are with the "miracle" that is carbon dating.
But not only is it always not a viable option, it also is not entirely accurate.
All it does is detect a specific type of carbon (c14) level on the outer surface of something.
If there is no detectable c14, you will not be able to get an accurate reading.
Even then, the reading can be off and you have to speculate which time period the item might come from.
So just to say, "just carbon date" something, well it's not that easy.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a scientist, but I do have some chemistry training. Most people who watch a lot of history channel or discovery channel
(and do not really have a grasp on what carbon dating really is) believe that it is the best thing since sliced bread.
There are a lot of factors dealing with carbon dating.
www.answers.com...
The above link may (or may not) help.
Again, like I stated earlier, I'm not a scientist, so my description of radio-carbon dating might not be perfect, that's why I posted the link. If
I am wrong about exactly what it is, then I appologize, however, I do know (according to scientists that I do know personally) that it is not a sure
fire way to determine the age of anything. It just basically gives you a jumping off point (at best).
[edit on 6/21/2006 by wu kung]