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58 Comments
- vsujohn2, on 07/04/2009, -6/+28OLD, buried.
- inactive, on 07/04/2009, -3/+20Hmmmm. 98 million years? Buried for heathenism.
- StuartGibson, on 07/04/2009, -1/+13Carbon dating is only used on things up to around 60000 years due to its short half-life.
Potassium-Argon and Uranium-Lead dating are used for much older things and are accurate to a tolerance of around 1% with corrections applied to account for the variability over time.
The only way for these to be seriously wrong would require a complete rewriting of the rules of physics. So, yes, on an absolute level we can't say that it's accurate (because we don't have time machines), but we can be certain of it in the same way that you are certain the universe didn't come into existence yesterday morning and all your memories were planted fully formed. - SimonWatson, on 07/04/2009, -2/+11They are artificial bones placed there by kangaroos on opium.
- SushiCW, on 07/04/2009, -0/+6Let me guess...they were all highly venomous? This is Australia, after all...
- NMRgentleman, on 07/04/2009, -0/+6Can you imagine what it would be like to actually see one of those things wandering around? Maybe it's easier for the Africans to imagine - at least they have elephants and giraffes.
- loopyloopy, on 07/04/2009, -0/+5no......... thank YOU
- inactive, on 07/04/2009, -0/+51 Kevin Rudd
2 Wayne Swann
3 Malcolm Turnbull
/jk - StuartGibson, on 07/04/2009, -1/+5That was epic, I can't believe you're getting buried for that.
- inactive, on 07/04/2009, -0/+4Unfortunately they are not, can't even greenlight a jurassic park franchise moneywhore sequel in Hollywood now, kids have moved onto superheroes.
- inactive, on 07/04/2009, -1/+5NMR,
The 1/2 life of C14, K40 are constant and the amounts in living tissue are constant. Any creature, including you takes in very small amounts of these isotopes in your diet. An animal excretes them at a constant rate via metabolism (C14) and via the renal system (K40). Once an animal dies the amount of these tracers becomes constant and then the isotopes decay. For C14 using acceleration mass spectrometry one can go to a little over 60,000 yrs. What is done is to compare the % of C14 in the dead tissue sample to that in a tissue sample from a living animal and then using the 1/2 life one can compute the age.
With dinosaur remains K40 can be used to date the animal. K40 has a 1/2 life of 1.3 x e9 yrs.
The equation is t = [ln Nf/No/-0.693] x T1/2 where the Nf/No is the ratio of the % of the isotope in the specimen relative to a living tissue sample and T/12 is the half life of the sample.
The argument that the "constants" are not constant just does not hold up. That is a pure assertion and untestable. Anyone who works with these isotopes knows that the half lives are constant. I do not work with K40 but I use C14 and P32 in tracer studies, the latter being a hotter isotope but short half life of 14 days. So one must use it quickly. - RadioFreeOpium, on 07/04/2009, -2/+6Thats three more species that were aboard the ark mind you.
- consonance, on 07/04/2009, -1/+5NMRgentleman, half-life dating has been demonstrated and proven by scientists time and time again. You're just not going to win this argument--the facts are against you.
- loopyloopy, on 07/04/2009, -0/+3the rainbow serpent discovery is just around the corner
- drichar, on 07/04/2009, -1/+4"Australovenator" sounds like an Aussie gigolo.
- NMRgentleman, on 07/04/2009, -3/+5I think you misunderstood me. You're right that if the half-life itself was changing with time, that would certainly affect our dating, and would require a rewrite of the laws of physics to boot. But all I was saying is that, on the carbon-14 dating for example, when we do dating we assume that the starting percentage of carbon-14 is the same in currently living animals as it was in long-dead animals, just before they died. But that's an assumption. Perhaps the reactions that generate the carbon-14 occurred more, or less, often many thousands of years ago, affecting what that starting percentage would be.
- NMRgentleman, on 07/04/2009, -3/+5Sigh. I'm not trying to win an argument, I'm just pointing out that half-life dating requires several assumptions. I'm not even saying the assumptions are irrational.
There have even been studies comparing dating using carbon-14 with other methods, for example, to try to determine by just how much the starting percentage of carbon-14 could have varied with time, to set an error-limit on our dates. - sam2gemini, on 07/03/2009, -2/+4This is awesome!
- loopyloopy, on 07/04/2009, -0/+2I give up, please tell me
- UbIwerks, on 07/04/2009, -0/+2I've been on a few safaris. The first time you see a giraffe, elephant, lion come out of the bush your brain gets the BSOD.
Side note: Last day of the safari my guide let my wife and I chase a giraffe. Stupid? Yes. Fun? Immensely! :) - Prodigy1990, on 07/04/2009, -0/+1i was going to say the same thing. Spielberg should get on top of this.
- NMRgentleman, on 07/04/2009, -0/+1A friend of ours actually almost hit an elephant with her car.
- jackointhebox, on 07/07/2009, -0/+1honestly...?
- str1fe, on 07/04/2009, -0/+1Relevant xkcd: http://xkcd.com/460/
- Capand, on 07/04/2009, -0/+1they have NEW dinosaurs?!?!
- twiztidsinz, on 07/04/2009, -0/+1Nah... the Australovenator is like a Terminator, sent back in time... for sweet, sweet lovin'.
"Come with me if you want to.. cum." - mrawl, on 07/04/2009, -0/+116m tall!! That's freakin wild. What's the tallest dinosaur?
- doctordbx, on 07/04/2009, -3/+4Unintentional pun was unintentional?
- kevro, on 07/04/2009, -2/+3Australovenator....Really? That's like the Mcloven of dinosaurs.
- sonnysavage, on 07/04/2009, -0/+1Old? Yes, but no longer buried, they've been unearthed.
- inactive, on 07/05/2009, -0/+1I hope they find a Jumbuk.
- falser, on 07/05/2009, -0/+1This is just wrong. Unveiling new dinosaurs is something that should only be done by God.
- PlatinumOGKush, on 07/05/2009, -0/+1Timeless in the sense that kids will always be amazed and enjoy them. C'mon you know that's a fact
- KrayzieKyd, on 07/04/2009, -0/+1I'm waiting for next year's models.
- SarcasticGenius, on 07/05/2009, -1/+2The SCIENCE story does not mention RELIGION at all, so why must you? Leave your religion bashing out of the science threads.
- jackointhebox, on 07/07/2009, -0/+1Australia made this GREAT discovery and the BEST name they would give one of their new dino's was Australovenator? honestly...??
- MrBogard, on 07/04/2009, -0/+1They're not really "new," are they?
- SarcasticGenius, on 07/05/2009, -0/+1The SCIENCE story does not mention RELIGION at all, so why must you? Leave your religion bashing out of the science threads.
- christoast, on 07/05/2009, -0/+1If hes not really young or trolling, hes retarded. If I find out this person actually exists it could do damage to my brain. Thanks for the comment though.
- SarcasticGenius, on 07/05/2009, -0/+1The SCIENCE story does not mention RELIGION at all, so why must you? Leave your religion bashing out of the science threads.
- PlatinumOGKush, on 07/04/2009, -1/+1How timeless and amazing are Dinosaurs?
- MikeOxbigg, on 07/04/2009, -1/+1Uh.
Well.
I'm sure the bones only look so old because Jesus n' his Apostle rode them so hard 6,000 years ago. Arthritis and whatnot. - inactive, on 07/04/2009, -0/+0amazing? very. Timeless? not so much.
- goffy59, on 07/04/2009, -3/+3Christians... hahahaha hahahha lmfao
- inactive, on 07/04/2009, -1/+1Fosters tastes like piss.
- SarcasticGenius, on 07/05/2009, -2/+2Such a childish comment.
- inactive, on 07/04/2009, -4/+4/s 4th wall
- bwjacket, on 07/04/2009, -3/+2Thats unpossible.
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