* The 2021 Version of an RSR Classic: Carbon-14 doesn't lie. It has a relatively brief life and yet is plentiful in fossils and diamonds claimed to be millions and billions of years old. Carbon-14 can't be an anomaly, because it's not here and there but it's everywhere it shouldn't be. This radiocarbon is so unstable that a solid ball of 14c the size of the Earth would all decay into nitrogen in less than a million years. Real Science Radio hosts Bob Enyart and Fred Williams begin today's Carbon-14 program by airing Bob's phone conservation from 15 years ago with Jurassic Park film advisor Jack Horner. Bob offered Jack $23,000 to carbon date the soft tissue T. rex that his team had recently excavated. (See bflist.rsr.org for a list of dinosaur biomaterial fossil papers.) * RSR's 2021 Carbon 14 Series: Pt. 1 (today's show), Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, and Pt. 5. * Video Subscription: To order a monthly video subscription, just call 800-8Enyart or click here to receive our monthly: - Topical Videos - Sermon Videos - Bible Study Videos - BEL Televised Classics * 14c Factoids: - Our atmosphere has one carbon-14 atom for every one trillion carbon atoms. (one in a trillion) - 21 pounds of 14c are produced in the atmosphere every year! - Unstable radiocarbon decays with a half-life of 5,730 years. (half-life symbol = t1/2) - A solid ball of 14c the size of the Earth would all decay into nitrogen in less than a million years. - A gram of carbon has about 50 sextillion carbon atoms. (50,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) - RSR co-host Fred has about 10 octillion total atoms in his body. (one octillion of carbon) - Fred, a big guy, carries around about 50 billion radiocarbon atoms! (50,000,000,000) - Fred's body experiences about 2,500 decays of 14c to nitrogen every second. (Don't tell Sandy!) - One 14c atom in a trillion carbon atoms is referred to as 100 percent modern carbon. (100 pMC) - Likewise, 100 14c atoms in a 100 trillion is referred to as 100 percent modern carbon. (100 pMC) - So 50 14c atoms in a 100 trillion carbon atoms is referred to as 50 percent modern carbon. (50 pMC) - Fifty percent modern carbon is interpreted as 5,730 years before present. (about 6,000 years BP) - The best AMS labs accurately count 14c atoms to even 0.001 of a percent modern carbon. (100th to a 1000th pMC) - Published lab measurements show processing introduces 1/10th to 3/10ths of a percent contamination. (~0.2 pMC) - So lab contamination adds one 14c atom to 250 in 500 trillion carbon atoms. (Yielding 251 of 500 trillion or 50.2 pMC.) - 14c "ages" get progressively significantly inflated as with bones from 873 AD dated to 200 years earlier.  - Pompeii, destroyed in 79 AD, was expected to give appropriate ages but gave 2400 to 5800 years BP. - Old 14c "dates" are progressively too old and there's far too much C-14 in diamonds, etc., to be contamination! * Telethon: The guys ask for help with their telethon goal of $50,000. If you can, please check out kgov.com/store or call us at 1-800-8Enyart (836-9278) to purchase our science resources, sign up for a subscription, or to make a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks so much! * Correction: As reported already back in 1962 and 1984, plants do absorb carbon dioxide from their roots, but at 27:20 into today's program Bob unintentionally implied that was the only way. Of course most CO2 is abosbed through leaf stomata, pores that form typically on the underside of leaves. Also, at 25:45 the guys are talking about Prof. Steve Taylor of the University of Liverpool.  * Time-Saving Google Creation Tool: Multiple Creation Site Search! * Full Report: Click to read our full Carbon-14 page.