fig rocks Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Wow, talk about mind blowing. A customer just came in to my store who used to work for Suncor up in the Tar Sands of northern Alberta about 20 yrs. ago. He said they found a eucalyptus tree approximately 10 Ft. across x 200 Ft. long that had jammed up their machinery. He said every so often a piece of wood would float to the surface and plug their intake screens. It was preserved, not fossilized and was carbon dated to 300 myo. He took a little piece and was told to keep it sealed or the light ends of petroleum would evaporate. He didn't and says today it is lighter than balsa wood. Apparently a piece of the log is still on display up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Well, "carbon dating" is only good as far back as 60,000 years (10 'half-lives' of the radiocarbon isotope), so it was NOT carbon dated to 300 million years ago. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig rocks Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 Well, "carbon dating" is only good as far back as 60,000 years (10 'half-lives' of the radiocarbon isotope), so it was NOT carbon dated to 300 million years ago. Well, I was just passing on what the guy said. He said they dated it to 300 myo.? I guess I'm gullible, I believe people, call in the firing squad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig rocks Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 OK, I Googled it. I stand corrected it's only 100 myo. My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 (edited) Because the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,700 years, it is only reliable for dating objects up to about 60,000 years old. However, the principle of carbon-14 dating applies to other isotopes as well. Potassium-40 is another radioactive element naturally found in your body and has a half-life of 1.3 billion years. Other useful radioisotopes for radioactive dating include Uranium -235 (half-life = 704 million years), Uranium -238 (half-life = 4.5 billion years), Thorium-232 (half-life = 14 billion years) and Rubidium-87 (half-life = 49 billion years). To the layman the name carbon-14 dating is applied to any and all kinds of dating, That's what the guy might have been getting at Edited September 10, 2009 by Seldom Galveston Island 32 miles long 2 miles wide 134 bars 23 liquor stores any questions? Evolution is Chimp Change. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain! "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig rocks Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 Because the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,700 years, it is only reliable for dating objects up to about 60,000 years old. However, the principle of carbon-14 dating applies to other isotopes as well. Potassium-40 is another radioactive element naturally found in your body and has a half-life of 1.3 billion years. Other useful radioisotopes for radioactive dating include Uranium -235 (half-life = 704 million years), Uranium -238 (half-life = 4.5 billion years), Thorium-232 (half-life = 14 billion years) and Rubidium-87 (half-life = 49 billion years). To the layman the name carbon-14 dating is applied to any and all kinds of dating, That's what the guy might have been getting at Wow you need to share some of that in your avatar!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Well, I was just passing on what the guy said. He said they dated it to 300 myo.? I guess I'm gullible, I believe people, call in the firing squad! Oh, Fig, I'm not attacking you! I have no doubt that what you reported is what he told you; the 'carbon-dating' thing is almost universally misunderstood, and I just wanted to keep the science cited on the Forum clean, rather than perpetuate a misconception. (FYI, the firing squad is reserved for the third infraction ) "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 (FYI, the firing squad is reserved for the third infraction ) I am not changing my avatar Wow you need to share some of that in your avatar!!!!!! My big head get in the way Galveston Island 32 miles long 2 miles wide 134 bars 23 liquor stores any questions? Evolution is Chimp Change. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain! "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 no matter how old it turns out to be, that's still pretty cool, fig. I've got a piece of preserved wood that I found locally in a small trout stream that was subject to a restoration project that I was volunteering on. I wrote an article that our state DNR ran in their magazine, "Wisconsin Natural Resources" Here's the piece of wood. We were hoping it would date to 3,000 to 5,000 yo, but it turned out to be "only" about 1800 yo: Here's the article (warning - they took some editorial liberty with dates, too!) A stick in time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I've had access to some bog wood that ranged in dates to 10 to 60, 000... It was speculated that some of these pieces were older but were not dated with other forums of long range dating processes yet... and still have not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 There is wood in the Miocene clay of the Calvert Fm. that can be made to burn as long as you keep a flame on it. I think that non-petrified wood, preserved since the Cretaceous, is about as cool as wood can be! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig rocks Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 Oh, Fig, I'm not attacking you! I have no doubt that what you reported is what he told you; the 'carbon-dating' thing is almost universally misunderstood, and I just wanted to keep the science cited on the Forum clean, rather than perpetuate a misconception. (FYI, the firing squad is reserved for the third infraction ) It's OK Auspex, no offence taken.I was just being goofy! (It's hard not to be when you're looking at Seldom's avatar) And really, the guy might have just said dated(not carbon dated) But as that link shows the wood coming out of there is only 100 myo and not 300 myo like he said. I just think it's cool that you can cut it with a saw and drive nails into it after so many years of being buried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyatte Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I am told by a reliable source (my boss) that up in the coal country of Pennsylvania where he lives that out behind his house in an old coal strip mine quarry - on the cliff of the quarry there is an old tree about 40-50 feet tall that the entire tree was fossilized (including trunk, limbs, leaves etc. I have never seen this myself but am hoping to go there once it gets cooler here and the leaves fall off of the tress so that I can dig the entire tree out ------ kidding!!!!... I just wish to take a few pictures and see what else small I can find. The guy that told me this is very trust worthy and I honestly believe him and I honestly believe him that it exists. If I can get pics of it I WILL post for everyone to see. Cheers' Life is what you make of it - Now Dig!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig rocks Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 That sounds really cool wyatte, I'd love to see some pics of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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