Planet Earth is older than six thousand years

I am quite sure this will be an intelligent and engaging debate. My name is not actually Mike (that is, my real first one), but it does actually begin with an "M". Anyway, it's beside the point. I hope the voters will take Con's assumption about my name into consideration when they vote for "Conduct". Science (the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment) (1) is based on the observations of humans, which are limited by the qualities of the physical characteristics of humans that allow them to observe. Humans can, with all body parts found in the typical human (very generally): -See -Hear -Smell -Taste -Touch (5) Because humans are limited by these factors, the only type of observations that humans can make are the ones that their physical features permit. Thus, scientific observation is the only reliable type of observation of the physical and natural world, as the characteristics humans use to observe the physical and natural world are inseparable from the physical and natural world. Now that I have established the credibility of science, I will endeavor to give scientific evidence for the Earth's being older than six thousand years. The burden of proof is on me, as stated in Round One and accepted by my opponent. The United States Geological Service (USGS) puts the age of Planet Earth at 4.5 to 4.6 billion years old (2). The USGS is managed by the United States' government (3). The USGS' activities are summarized in the following statement: "As the Nation's largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific understanding about natural resource conditions, issues, and problems. The diversity of our scientific expertise enables us to carry out large-scale, multi-disciplinary investigations and provide impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other customers. " (3) The USGS' findings about the age of Planet Earth are based on scientific evidence found using the method of radiometric dating (2). Radioactive decay occurs when atomic nuclei break down spontaneously (2). To be exact: "As radioactive Parent atoms decay to stable daughter atoms (as uranium decays to lead) each disintegration results in one more atom of the daughter than was initially present and one less atom of the parent. The probability of a parent atom decaying in a fixed period of time is always the same for all atoms of that type regardless of temperature, pressure, or chemical conditions. This probability of decay is the decay constant. The time required for one-half of any original number of parent atoms to decay is the half-life, which is related to the decay constant by a simple mathematical formula. " (2) The fixed probability of decay in a fixed area of time for atoms of a type is obviously a useful asset to scientists, as it is a mathematical constant. Due to decay probability's immunity to temperature, pressure, or chemical conditions, it is possible to estimate the age of the Earth regardless of what temperatures, pressures, or chemical conditions existed on Earth before. "All rocks and minerals contain long-lived radioactive elements that were incorporated into Earth when the Solar System formed. These radioactive elements constitute independent clocks that allow geologists to determine the age of the rocks in which they occur. " (2) To summarize: -ALL rocks and minerals contain long-lived radioactive elements -These elements became part of Earth when our solar system formed -These elements decay independent of ANY temperature, pressure, or chemical conditions that exist around them -Each of these elements have a separate decay constant -Anyone can analyze rocks that contain these radioactive elements and see how much the radioactive elements present have decayed into more stable elements -Anyone can determine the age of the rock sample being analyzed by applying the decay constant for the particular element present and measuring decay. So how was the age of the Earth determined through radiometric dating? "The oldest rocks on Earth, found in western Greenland, have been dated by four independent radiometric dating methods at 3.7-3.8 billion years. Rocks 3.4-3.6 billion years in age have been found in southern Africa, western Australia, and the Great Lakes region of North America. These oldest rocks are metamorphic rocks but they originated as lava flows and sedimentary rocks. The debris from which the sedimentary rocks formed must have come from even older crustal rocks. The oldest dated minerals (4.0-4.2 billion years) are tiny zircon crystals found in sedimentary rocks in western Australia. " (2) So, from the OLDEST dated minerals, using radiometric dating, we know Earth is at least four billion years old, which fulfills my burden of proof. Furthermore: "The evidence for the antiquity of the Earth and Solar System is consistent with evidence for an even greater age for the Universe and Milky Way Galaxy. a) The age of the Universe can be estimated from the velocity and distance of galaxies as the universe expands. The estimates range from 7 to 20 billion years, depending on whether the expansion is constant or is slowing due to gravitational attraction. b) The age of the Galaxy is estimated to be 14-18 billion years from the rate of evolution of stars in globular clusters, which are thought to be the oldest stars in the Galaxy. The age of the elements in the Galaxy, based on the production ratios of osmium isotopes in supernovae and the change in that ratio over time due to radioactive decay, is 8.6-15.7 billion years. Theoretical considerations indicate that the Galaxy formed within a billion years of the beginning of the Universe. c) Combining the data from a) and b), the "best, i. e. , most consistent, age of the universe is estimated to be around 14 billion years. " (2) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Planck Mission studies support this information regarding the age of the universe (4). According to NASA: "Planck is a European Space Agency mission. NASA contributed mission-enabling technology for both of Planck's science instruments, and U. S. , European and Canadian scientists work together to analyze the Planck data. The map results suggest the universe is expanding more slowly than scientists thought, and is 13.8 billion years old, 100 million years older than previous estimates. " (4) To summarize: Radiometric dating of rocks that contain decaying radioactive elements prove that the Earth is older than six thousand years, fulfilling my burden of proof. Thanks again to Con for accepting. Let's hear his opening argument! Sources: 1. Oxford Pocket Dictionary of English 2. . http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov... 3. . http://www.usgs.gov... 4. . http://www.nasa.gov... 5. . http://science.howstuffworks.com...