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100 Reasons to Choose Biblical Creation Over Evolution
81. Polonium Haloes in Granite
Before uranium decays into lead, it first becomes a number of other radioactive substances in a predictable decay series. Some of the elements it becomes along the way release a great deal on energy as they decay, leaving a scar in the rock around them. Each element leaves a unique, readily recognized scar, referred to as a halo.
As Uranium decays, one of the elements it becomes is Radon 222, which has a short life span of about 3 days before it decays away. Radon 222 in turn becomes Polonium 218, an isotope that lasts only 3 minutes. Both the Radon and the Polonium leave a signature halo in the rocks when they decay. One of the great mysteries for evolution is the fact that Polonium 218 haloes have been found by the thousands in granite rocks all over the world, without any sign of the Radon parent. These haloes, in fact, show no sign at all of having been derived from Uranium. As far as we know, Polonium 218 is only created as part of the Uranium decay chain, yet these "orphan" haloes seem to paint a different picture.
One of the key assumptions in radiometric dating is that isotopic decay always proceeds in a predictable manor at a rate we observe today. These Polonium haloes completely refute that assumption, making clear the inherent uncertainties in the radiometric dating method.
Most importantly, these orphan haloes strongly suggest that the earth's granites were hardened within 3 minutes. This goes against the evolution view that the earth started as a hot molten mass and that the granites gradually cooled over millions of years. If this was true, all the polonium would have decayed while the earth was still molten and its haloes could not have been recorded in the rocks (Think of the Polonium's decay like a hand grenade going off. If it exploded under water, within seconds all traces of it would be gone. However, if you suddenly froze the lake just as it exploded, then a huge cavity would be present in the ice). This fits the creation model very well, which describes God calling the dry land into existence during the creation week described in Genesis 1 A.
81. Polonium Haloes in Granite - Notes and References
A. See Robert V. Gentry, "Creation's Tiny Mystery", Earth Science Associates, Knoxville TN, 4th Ed., 2003, for thorough treatment of this topic. Robert Gentry is a first-class scientist whose work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals for many years. His findings concerning these "orphan" haloes have never been refuted, though he has been challenging the evolutionist community to do so for over 20 years. Most evolutionists understand the implications of Gentry's discoveries. However, even in the absence of any naturalistic explanation, they refuse to accept creation as a viable answer, instead choosing to explain away Gentry's findings as "a tiny mystery."
Also see Robert Gentry's website www.haloes.org. This topic is also covered on Gentry's DVD, "Fingerprints of Creation", which can be ordered off of his website.