Abstract
Radioactive dating is the process of determining the age of rocks and other specimens from the decay of their radioactive elements. By applying this information, geologists are able to decipher the 4.6-billion-year history of the earth. The paper introduces the history of this type of dating in chronological order. It discusses other issues related to radioactive dating such as Carbon-14 dating, fission track dating, Potassium Argon Dating, the Rubidium-Strontium method, lead-alpha age and debated ideas of radioactive dating.

From the Paper
"Cosmic rays from the sun strike nitrogen 14 atoms in the earth's atmosphere and cause nitrogen atoms to lose a proton making it a carbon isotope this then turns into radioactive carbon 14, which combines with oxygen to form radioactive carbon dioxide. All living things are in equilibrium with the atmosphere, and the radioactive carbon dioxide is absorbed from the air and used by green plants. Then the radioactive carbon dioxide gets passed on through the plants into the food chain and the carbon cycle. All living things contain a constant ratio of Carbon 14 to Carbon 12 of about 1 in a trillion. The amount of carbon 14 lost in a species is continually replenished as long as it still takes in food and oxygen. At death, the exchange of carbon 14 ceases and any that is left in the tissues of the organism begins to decay to Nitrogen 14, this is not replenished by any new C-14. The change in the Carbon 14 to Carbon 12 ratio is the basis for dating this dating technique. The half-life is so short (5730 years) that this method can only be used on materials less than 70,000 years old. A lot of archaeological dating uses this method. It is also very useful in attempting to date remnants of the ice ages (Pleistocene epoch.)"

Tags:Marie, Pierre, Curie, Clair, Patterson, U, 235, atom

Abstract
A paper which explains the beginning of radioactive dating - a process which can give scientists the age of rocks and other materials and help us to identify when Earth began. The paper explores the progression of this method and its uses today, as well as discusses different methods that are used, other than carbon-12, such as potassium or argon dating.

From the Paper
"Many view radioactivity as the end of the world in the event of a nuclear war. With its astonishing power, radioactivity could perhaps destroy and thus end the world. What many don t know about radioactivity is that is has the potential to tell scientists the age - or the beginning - of the Earth. Quite ironically, radioactivity could very well be responsible for both showing the beginning and the ending of Earth. A process called radiometric dating can give scientists the age of rocks and other materials and help us to identify when Earth began."

Tags:radiometric, rocks, Becquerel, uranium, isotope

Abstract
This paper examines how both carbon-14 and uranium-238 are used to date fossils and how both methods are based on measuring the decay that has occurred in these elements. It looks at how carbon-14 dating is used for organic material, plants and animals, while uranium-238 is used primarily for geographic formations. It also discusses how both methods of dating are subject to potential sample contamination and, therefore, inaccurate readings; the addition of foreign material in both types of samples can provide either younger or older results, dependent on the material.

From the Paper
"Radioactive elements decay at unique rates, dependant on the isotope. This rate of decay is known as half-lives, it is the time necessary for of the atoms to decay in a particular element. The decay follows a geometric scale, in that in the first half-life of an element, of the atoms decay, yet in the second half-life, of those remaining decay, meaning a of the original atoms decay, and so forth. By measuring this decay, and knowing the half life of an element, scientists can date a sample."

Tags:isotope, atoms, half, life, decay, chronometric

From the Paper
"One of the common problems faced by historians, geologists, archaeologists and anthropologists is the estimation of the age of particular specimens. Historians are interested in such things as the age of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Anthropologists are interested in the age of jaw bones which were found at Olduvai Gorge in Tanganyika. Archaeologists are interested in the date of Ptolemy's sarcophagus. And geologists are interested in the age of the Earth. The answers for a long time evaded people. The best that geologists could do was come up with som sort of ordinal distinction: for example, they knew that the origin of the earth was an older event than the origin of the first rock and that the first rock was older than were the Rocky Mountains. Likewise, anthropologists could determine that Neanderthal man preceded Cro-Magnon, but still the exact age of these events ... "

Abstract
This paper describes the beautiful, complex and sophisticated Paleolithic artwork on the wall panels of Chauvet cave that have led to the questioning of the use of the stylistic method of dating. Next, the author presents the debate over the use of carbon dating versus stylistic dating. The paper concludes that the discovery of Chauvet cave reveals not only the flaws of the stylistic dating methodology but also the vulnerability of its result so that it should not be used in assigning dates to Paleolithic art. A table is included in the paper.

Table of Contents:
Background
Brief Description of the Artworks in the Cave
Interpreting the Significance of the Discovery of Chauvet Cave and its Artworks
The Stylistic Dating Contention
Carbon Dating versus Stylistic Dating
Conclusion

From the Paper
"In contrast, the unreliability on the use of stylistic dating became more glaring with the discovery of Chauvet cave. In addition to the possible error of dating the Chauvet cave between 21,000 - 17,000 years, its method has already been questioned in the same year that the Chauvet cave has been discovered. It proved to have erred in dating the engravings at the Foz Coa dam construction site.
"The vulnerability of stylistic dating has been further revealed by the study of von Petzinger in 2010. In the study of von Petzinger, it revealed that certain symbols and art form used in stylistic dating was in fact not exclusive in a certain period as assigned by stylistic dating but rather, ubiquitous in the entire palaeolithic era. Examples cited were the dots, the positive and negative and hands and the finger fluting implying that stylistic dating could be inaccurate.
"There was also another method suggested by several authors after the discovery of the Chauvet cave that to really appreciate and determine the stylistic context of the art forms in the cave, it should be compared with other caves."

Tags:sophistication, human hand, limitations, aurignacian era, anachronism

Abstract
There are many techniques for dating within the field of archaeology, one of these methods is the The K-Ar (Potassium-Argon) method which has been a vast success within the field of geology. This paper examines how it works and what methods are used to glean the date from archaeological artifacts and remains.

From the Paper
"It is possible to date rocks with a low potassium content such as basalts in this way. Sadly the dates are not always secure due to the behavior of the geochemicals of the parent and daughter elements as they are likely to being disturbed by geological events such as weathering or reheating that normally take place during the formation of a rock. Potassium argon dating allows scientists to date volcanic rocks between two billion and 100,000 years old."

Tags:carbon, dating, geology, rocks, igneous, volcanic

Abstract
This paper examines the above book which discusses every imponderable imaginable right from the mundane ones such as lottery odds, predicting a child's height, baseball arithmetic, to more complex ones including Windchill equivalent temperature, carbon dating, Newton's relativity theory and synchronous satellites. It shows how the book improves one's problem solving skills by making them think about imponderables and also aids one's understanding of mathematical concepts and sheds light on their useful application in our everyday lives. It evaluates how the book is also an attempt to improve numeracy among American public by making them more aware of the usefulness of mathematics in their lives.

From the Paper
"The book begins with calculation of distance between one particular point and the horizon. Brookhart gives a simple geometric formula to predict the approximate distance. A casual look at these formulas in the beginning of the book prepares the reader for what comes later. However the very simple tone of the book is what arouses skepticism in readers. Some have even pointed out the errors they found in the book. For example the rejection of Goldbach's well-known assumption that "no one has ever found a number greater than 2 that could not be expressed as the sum of two prime numbers" is one such error."

Tags:numeracy, calcualtion, lottery, odds

Abstract
This work examines the valuable role that stable isotope analysis plays in the reconstruction of past diets. The methods used to isolate and subsequently analyse stable isotopes obtained from skeletonized remains is explored. An in-depth discussion of carbon and nitrogen demonstrates their usefulness in distinguishing individuals who had a diet high in either plants, land-based animals, or marine food. To further illustrate the benefit of isotopic analysis, a case study regarding the adoption of maize in South and North America is discussed.

From the Paper
"Due to its use in radiocarbon dating, methods of isolating collagen had already been developed before its importance in stable isotope studies was realized (Katzenberg, 2000). There are three common techniques employed in the extraction of collagen from bone. The first method is best utilized on fresh and well-preserved archaeological bone. Initial preparation of the material involves the sample being ground and then soaked in hydrochloric acid (HCl). At this stage, the sample is composed primarily of bone organics and soil contaminants and must be placed in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (Schwarcz & Schoeninger, 1991). Unfortunately, some collagen is lost when soaked in NaOH but this process is necessary as it has been demonstrated that contaminants may skew 13C values (Katzenberg, 2000). "

Tags:carbon, maize, nitrogen, osteology, skeleton, dating

Abstract
This paper reviews the life and work of Lewis Howard Latimer, the son of a runaway slave born in Boston in 1848 from his beginnings as a draftsman to his first invention water closets for railroad cars, to his expertise in inventing, installations, drafting and patenting. It also looks at how his invention of a better method of producing carbon filaments ultimately transformed the future of incandescent lamps.

Outline
Dates of Life and Work
Education Experience in Social Context
Area of Expertise
Contribution to the Field of Science and Society
Historical Significance of his Work

From the Paper
"While working at Crosby and Gould, Latimer began his career as an inventor. In 1873, he was granted a patent for his first invention water closets for railroad cars (Klein, 1971, pp. 99-100). His belief that electricity would play a significant role in the future led him to join Hiram Maxim's United States Electric Lighting Company (Klein, 1971, p. 100). At U.S. Electric, Latimer succeeded in increasing the life of the carbon filament of the early light bulbs. In 1881, Latimer and J.V. Nichols, another Maxim employee, claimed the patent for making improvements in incandescent electric lamps (Klein, 1971, p. 101). In the following year, Latimer invented a globe support for the electric arc lamps (Klein, 1971, p. 101)."

Tags:carbon, filaments, electricity, slave

Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that in pre-industrial cultures, dating back to very ancient times and before the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, the wine was far more practical than mere grape juice, simply because grape juice spoiled by itself if left in the open or unrefrigerated. The writer points out that it was easier to keep and store wine because after it was made, it did not spoil as much as compared to grape juice. The writer discusses that the overall character or taste of various types of wine can be determined by making and storing the wine in different types of containers. As to the types of fermentation processes which truly affect the taste of various wines, the writer notes that some include barrel fermentation, carbonic maceration, rose wine-making, fermentation in a bottle, malolactic fermentation and secondary fermentation.

From the Paper
"As it applies to wine, fermentation is the process which converts sugar to ethanol (i.e., ethanol alcohol) and carbon dioxide effected by the anaerobic, oxygen-free metabolism of yeast. One of the main reasons why grape juice was not kept or made before the Industrial Revolution was that it tended to spoil rather rapidly. But by the middle of the 19th century, the nature of fermentation began to be clearly understood, due in part to the experiments of French scientist Louis Pasteur who determined that ferments and their agents yeast and bacteria as primarily responsible for alcoholic fermentation. Chemically speaking, these agents act through their internal enzymes which functioning as catalysts, govern and control the series of reactions involved in the conversion of sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide."

Tags:grapes, juice, yeast, alcoholic