Re: [asa] Oklo as the graveyard of YEC

In a message dated 4/15/07 1:52:38 PM, gmurphy@raex.com writes:

> Now there are some properties that a fully formed creation would have to
> have, though it's hard to see why a 325/238 ratio of 1/138 would be one of
> them.  But let that pass.
>

Though George doesn't pursue this, I think it's worth considering in a
broader sense. Why would there need to be any specific isotopic ratio for a
physical system? Other than slightly different diffusion rates, there is
essentially no chemical difference between isotopes. Ruling out nuclear effects
(natural reactors or radiation/heat produced by short half-lives), there seems to
be no functional advantage for any specific isotopic ratio.

To make the argument more concrete, why should a rock be created with any
specific ratio of 39-K to 40-K, for example? There seems to be no functional
advantage of any specific ratio. So why would God have given different ratios
to different rock formations in a fully-formed creation? And why would He do
so in a systematic fashion which is consistent with other indicators of age?
 Why create any 40-K at all?

Other than being an indicator of true age, it seems to me that there is no
reasonable explanation for the variation that we see in isotopic ratios. In
fact, we could argue the other way: Why would God create such a well-behaved
system as K-Ar, with a half-life well-matched to the age of the earth? Could it
be that He wanted us to learn details about the antiquity of His creation?

Kirk

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Received on Tue Apr 17 00:05:30 2007