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(1) The radioisotope ⁴⁰K constitutes 0.012% of all naturally occurring potassium. S.T. Butler & H. Messel, "A Modern Introduction to Physics" (vol. 3), Howitz Pub. Inc. P/L & Grahame Book Co P/L: Sydney, p:24 1962

(2) ⁴⁰K has a half-life of 1.31 billion years.

(3) ⁴⁰K (parent isotope) breaks down to ⁴⁰Ar (daughter isotope) by gaining an electron.

(4) "Because argon is a gas, the structures of minerals crystallizing from magma do not retain it, although many of these minerals may include rather abundant potassium. The radiogenic argon that builds up in potassium-rich minerals after they have crystallized, therefore, furnishes a good measure of the age of the sample." M.E. Bickford, et al (eds) "Geology Today", CRM Books: Del Mar (California), p:427 1973

(5) "One of the main uses of potassium-argon in recent years has been in determining the ages of quite young samples, for example, those less than 60 million years old. The rubidium-strontium and uranium-lead techniques are very difficult to use with such samples, because the slow decay rates of the parent isotopes have not allowed a significant increase in the daughter isotopes." M.E. Bickford, et al (eds) "Geology Today", CRM Books: Del Mar (California), p:427-428 1973

(6) "The principal difficulty with the potassium-argon method lies in the fact that argon is a gas and can escape from the crystals of minerals in which it accumulates. Commonly the ages of minerals from rather old rocks dated by the potassium-argon method are lower than the ages obtained by either the rubidium-strontium and uranium-lead dating. Moreover, many studies have demonstrated that argon escapes readily during metamorphic events when rocks become heated and partially crystallized." M.E. Bickford, et al (eds) "Geology Today", CRM Books: Del Mar (California), p:427 1973

• Some rocks of known age have been inaccurately assessed using the K-Ar method.

For example:

• Dr Steven A. Austin (PhD), Professor of Geology (Institute of Creation Research, San Diego, California) used the K-Ar method to date porphyritic dacite rock produced by the Mt St Helens eruption in 1986.

(1) A 7 Kg sample of dacite was collected from the north-west slope of the lava dome formed from the 1986 flow.

(2) A 1 Kg block of rock was sawn from inside the sample. This sample had not been exposed to the argon in the air over the 10 years since it was formed.

(3) The chemical analysis of the sample showed that it was typical porphyritic dacite.

(1) The test block was washed thoroughly to remove any outside contamination.

(2) The rock was crushed and milled using an iron mortar.

(3) Rock powder was sieved through thoroughly washed screens.

(4) The sieved material was washed to remove any contamination from the air.

(5) The resultant powder had a particle size of 0.180-0.075 mm.

(6) The powdered rock was filtered using heavy liquids to remove any contamination.

(7) Part of the powder was separated into four different mineral samples - feldspar-glass, heavy magnetic, heavy non-magnetic, and pyroxene.

(8) Each sample was scanned under the microscope to ensure that there were no foreign particles in them.

(9) The samples were stored in vials away from the air and dust.

(1) The 5 samples were analysed by the Geochron Laboratories, Cambridge, Massachusetts under the direction of Richard Reesman.

(2) The lab was not told where the rock came from, or that the age of the rock was known.

(3) Flame photometry was used to measure the amount of K (%).

(4) The amount of ⁴⁰K (ppm) was calculated from the terrestrial isotopic abundance using the K concentration.

(5) The concentration of ⁴⁰Ar ('radiogenic argon-40') was derived using a mass spectrometer.

(6) Two measurements for each element were taken and an average calculated from them.

(7) The ratio of ⁴⁰Ar to the total Argon was measured using a mass spectrometer.

(1) The age was calculated using the 'general model-age equation'.

(2) The equation becomes:- t=1/(5.543x10^-10) ln [((1/0.105)(⁴⁰Ar/⁴⁰K))+1]

• The ten year old rock was given the following estimated ages:-

(1) It was an assumption that: D_t-D_o = ⁴⁰Ar

(2) "As a matter of practice, no radiogenic argon is supposed to have existed when the rock was formed." CEN Tech. J., Vol. 10, No. 3, p:340 1996

(3) Because the rock was ten years old, there was no time for ⁴⁰Ar to form from ⁴⁰K. Therefore any ⁴⁰Ar measured was not radiogenic argon.

(4) "The argon analysis of the dacite lava dome show, surprisingly, a non-zero concentration of 'radiogenic argon' (⁴⁰Ar) in all preparations from the dacite." CEN Tech. J., Vol. 10, No. 3, p:340 1996

(5) Different minerals were shown to contain varying amounts of argon gas.

(6) Verifying this:-"The solubility of Ar in the minerals [olivine] is surprisingly high." Broadhurst, et al, Geochimica et Cosmochimica, Vol. 54, p:299-309

• K-Ar Radiometric dating does not yield accurate ages under test conditions.
• "The primary assumption upon which K-Ar model-age dating is based assumes zero ⁴⁰Ar in the mineral phases of a rock when it solidifies. This assumption has been shown to be faulty." CEN Tech. J., Vol. 10, No. 3, p:342 1996

• NO - "... some of the basic assumptions of the conventional Rb-Sr isochron method have to be modified and an observed isochron does not certainly define a valid age information for a geological system, even if a goodness of fit of the experimental data points is obtained in plotting ⁸⁷Sr/⁶⁶Sr vs. ⁸⁷Rb/⁶⁶Sr. This problem cannot be overlooked, especially in evaluating the numerical time scale. Similar questions can also arise in applying Sm-Nd and U-Pb isochron methods." Y.F. Zheng, "Influence of the Nature of the Initial Rb-Sr System on Isochron Validity", Chemical Geology, Vol. 80, 1989 p:14

• "Therefore, these considerations call into question all K-Ar 'dating', whether 'model ages' or 'isochron ages', and all ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar 'dating', as well as 'fossil dating' that has been calibrated against K-Ar 'dates'." A.A. Snelling, "The Cause of Anomalous Potassium-Argon 'Ages' for Recent Andesite flows at Mt Ngauruhoe, New Zealand, and the Implications for Potassium-Argon 'Dating' ", Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Creationism, Technical Symposium Sessions, 1998 p:521

(A) The varying mineral composition of the myriads of types of rocks negates the accuracy of the standard potassium-argon dating method.

(B) The potassium-argon method should not be used to calculate the ages of rocks.

(C) As all new radiometric dating methods are calibrated using dates from existing methods, any based directly or indirectly on the potassium-argon method should not be used to calculate the ages of rocks.

In added support - "[We] should therefore not be intimidated by claims that U-Th-Pb radiometric 'dating' has 'proved' the presumed great antiquity of the earth, and the strata and fossils of the so-called geologic column." A.A. Snelling, "U-Th-Pb 'Dating': An example of False 'Isochrons' ", Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Creationism, Technical Symposium Sessions, 1994 p:503