Request for Carbon-14 Dating explanation

I think the constant you are talking about is the half-life of C-14, and yes that is a constant (some creationists have argued for increased radioactivity with increasing age but there are just too many inconsistencies for that to hold - not least of which are all those correlation curves).There is another factor that can affect samples, and that is contamination - two kinds:(1) contact with recent organics that mix modern C-14 with the sample - handled by following proper proceedures in sample collection, isolationi and testing, and(2) nearness to radioactivity; there are samples of coal and oil that test "too young" due to elevated C-14 that is generated by radioactive recoversion of nitrogen to C-14 (another creationist favorite) - handled by measuring radioactivity in other samples.Other sources of information are:
http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~lindsay/creation/carbon.html (good C-14 info) and
Radiometric Dating (good overall radiometric dating info)enjoy.ps - the oldest living bristlecone pine is over 4600 years old, while an older one (the "Methusula" tree) was cut down in 1957 and then dated to 4789 years old.also see: http://EvC Forum: Age Correlations and an Old Earth on the issue of correlations between dating methods based on annual counting systems.

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we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

When math tells you something that does not jibe with reality, it is not reality that is at fault. Either the formula was incorrect or the assumptions made going in to the forumla were incorrect.The hurricane prediction software was 'tested' by the first huricane strength storm south of the equator earlier this year, and the program crashed.Some could take this as evidence that hurricanes do not exist below the equator.Enjoy.

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we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

Actually it goes back further than that. The Methuselah tree was cut down in 1957 and dated to the age of 4789-1957+1 (no zero date) = 2833 BCE. From:
Fachbereich Biologie : Universität Hamburg This data was published in 1958 in National Geographic.Then there are the annual varves from Lake Suigetsu Japan
http://www.cio.phys.rug.nl/HTML-docs/Verslag/97/PE-04.htm And this correlation curve between actual carbon dated specimens versus age determined by counting the annual varve layers: The line represents a 1:1 correlation with a steady state level of C-14 in the atmosphere while the data points represent the difference due to the actual C-14 in the atmosphere. Notice that (1) this shows actual dates to be a little older than steady state C-14 dates, (2) the curve is pretty consistent from the data and (3) that the curve covers 90% of the age range that the method is used for, and finally (4) that the curve can be used to refine the C-14 dates to be more accurate.

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we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

rick -sorry, I have a link on my thread about age correlations
(http://EvC Forum: Age Correlations and an Old Earth)
in the section on the oak tree ring data that gives a pretty good overview of the process of dendrochronology:
Useful Tree Species for Tree-Ring Dating
including some of the problems encountered.The age is determined by counting annual growth rings. When you reach the maximum age of living trees then you need to find samples that overlap with the rings of living trees and then trees that overlap those rings. The pattern of tree rings is not the same due to climatological variations.For instance there is a time known as "the year without a summer" (click) and this can be found in the tree ring chronology as a very week summer ring or a double winter ring.Remember that good dating work always relies on more than one method to ensure there is not some kind of contamination.Enjoy.

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we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

I have a feeling we are talking past each other with views based on assumptions not expressed.Let's take it down a notch and see?Dendrochronology is based on the concept of counting annual rings of growth in many 'signature' tree species, from European oak to California bristlecone pine. This is based on the assumption that one ring, composed of fast summer growth and slow winter growth, is easily discernable and that it represents an actual year of growth.The first step in establishing such a system is to verify that the data is accurate, that the rings are in fact annual, and that there are not significant factors that can cause false data. Some of these factors are discussed on the tree ring website cited, and this is usually checked by using many more than one sample. Tree rings can be counted from cores from many trees, for instance. Climate changes cause differences in the growth rates and thus in the size of the annual rings, and these can be used to check from one sample to another to see if there is a consistent pattern of growth. This climate data can also be used to extend the chronology from living trees to recently dead samples and eventually even to fossil trees, but there needs to be sufficient numbers of samples with plenty of overlap so that pieces can be aligned and the data repeated. Think of the climate pattern as the fingerprint of the tree rings. This is one level of calibration. Sources and frequencies of errors give you the accuracy of the system in (+/-)%.The second step is correlations with other tree ring systems to see if the data matches on climate: some years are better for growing than others, and the patterns of growth show variations in climate in the size of the tree rings. Other checks are marker events, like the "year without a summer" or wood buried by Pompeii or in Egyptian tombs of known dates, that show up at the correct place for annual growth rings to match the historical records. Climate is global, and the data shows similar trends around the world, from oaks in Europe to pines in California. This is another level of calibration.When a piece of wood is dated using Dendrochronology the ‘fingerprint’ of the climate pattern is compared to the master file to find the best match, and the accuracy depends on the tree species and the size of the sample (how many rings to match).There is more information in a series of slides at:
Error 404: Page or Resource Not Found | NCEIEssentially calibration comes down to verifying that the rings accurately represent annual growth.

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we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}

s'cool

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we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand RebelAAmerican.Zen[Deist
{{{Buddha walks off laughing with joy}}}