Originally Posted by Ringman
Originally Posted by antlers
Originally Posted by Dixie_Dude
If the earth were billions of years old, then nuclear decay would have made all uranium turn into lead by now.
This is simply not true. Over 99% of the naturally occurring uranium in the world is U-238, and its half-life is 4.5 billion years. That means that we have half as much U-238 in the world now as we did 4.5 billion years ago when the earth was formed. It also means that in another 4.5 billion years, we will still have half as much U-238 in the world then as we do now. And in another 9 billion years, we will still have half as much U-238 in the world then as we will have in another 4.5 billion years from now.
This goes back to assumption on top of assumption on top of assumption. You assume there was no daughter product in the beginning. You assume the rate has never changed. You assume none has been leached out or migrated into your sample. And there are many times more radiometric systems that show a much younger earth than show an older earth. The scientists who use the slow ones do so because they know they need billions of years for evolution to function. They are like the media. Dishonest.
What I posted regarding the radioactive decay of U-238 is factual. It’s universally acknowledged, accepted, and agreed upon by all credible scientific minds that have any real knowledge of this subject matter. Our knowledge of radioactive half-lives isn’t guesswork, it is known...factual...information. That knowledge is used to calculate how long radioactive waste must be stored; it enables doctors to use radioactive medical tracers; and it allows us to date objects/artifacts - just a few examples of how sound knowledge of radioactive half-lives can be/is used. If you choose to think otherwise, so be it.

Every day on this side of the ground is a win.