Radiohalos are powerful evidence that the earth was not formed over billions of years from a nebulous mass as evolutionist believe but rather in a nearly instantaneous manner consistent with the Bible. As incredible as this sounds it is based on observations in the granites of the earth.
The Precambrian granites are the foundation rocks of the planet. They are far below the sedimentary rocks and have no fossils. When the rocks are sliced very thin and examined under a microscope concentric circles are seen. These concentric circles are radiohalos and were made from radioactive decay. This is the same decay chain of uranium-238 that was explained with isotopes and atomic decay in the age of the earth section.
Remember how uranium only decays by alpha and beta decay? The alpha decay emits a helium nucleus which is 2 protons and 2 neutrons and then becomes a new element because the daughter element now has 2 less protons. When these alpha particles are emitted in granite the collision of the high energy alpha particle with the molecules of the granite rock causes damage that is seen as a halo. Figure 15 shows how these alpha particles are sent in all directions. Since they all have the same energy they will travel the same distance in the granite rock before stopping after the molecular collisions. This equal distance in all directions will make a sphere. When the sphere is sliced in half it will look like a circle and this is what is seen under a microscope with the Precambrian granites. The rocks are cut into thin slices and concentric circles are seen in the microscope.
Sunburst Effect of Alpha-Damage Trails
E = mc2
No damage from β particle (electron)
Uranium 238 Radioactive Decay Chain
U- uranium Rn- radon
Th-thorium Po-polonium
Pa- protactinium Bi-bismuth
Ra- radium Pb-lead
α (Alpha) Decay: Parent emits Helium nucleus = 2 protons and 2 neutrons
Atomic number decreases by 2, atomic mass decreases by 4
β (Beta) Decay: Neutron turns into proton and an electron and the electron is emitted
Atomic number increases by 1, atomic mass does not change
Half Life Table of Uranium 238
Now only alpha particles will make a halo because they are heavy and fast and can damage the rock. Beta particles are electrons and will pass though the rocks and leave no trace. The decay of uranium-238 involves only alpha and beta decay. Each step in the decay is known .There are 14 steps in the radioactive decay of uranium-238; 8 are alpha decay and 6 are beta decay. Each of the eight steps that are alpha decay emits an alpha particle with a different amount of energy. The ones with more energy will go further and will make a wider halo and the lower energy alpha particles will not go as far and the halo from these will be smaller. The “MeV” of Figure 16 is the energy of each of the alpha particles which are measured in millions of electron volts (MeV). The photograph to the right in Figure 16 is an actual radiohalo seen in precambrian granite rocks showing the rings created by the alpha particles that decay from uranium 238.
When uranium 238 decays the first step is to emit an alpha particle to become thorium 234. This will create the first ring or halo. When the thorium 234 decays to protactinium 234 it emits a beta particle and leaves no evidence in the granite. The protactinium 234 then beta decays into uranium 234 and also leaves to trace. At this point there is only one ring caused by the one alpha decay after these first three steps. Uranium 234 then alpha decays into thorium 230 and this alpha particle will make a second ring. This second ring is slightly larger than the first because it has more energy or speed, 4.77 MeV versus 4.10 MeV. This process continues for each of the 14 steps until Lead 206 is made. Each alpha decay leaves a ring and each beta decay leaves no trace.
Figure 16: Uranium 238 Halo Cross Section
Now here is where things get interesting. Figure 17 shows a polonium 218 radiohalo. Look also at Figure 13 and see that from polonium 218 there are 3 alpha decays and 4 beta decays to get to lead 206. These 3 alpha decays create the 3 rings seen in Figure 17. Remember beta decay leaves no trace and each alpha decay has a unique energy so the size of the rings caused by the alpha particles is always the same. Scientists can be certain this radiohalo is from polonium 218 because of the number of rings and the size of the rings. Polonium 218 comes from radon 222 by alpha decay so the radiohalo of radon 222 would have 4 rings. Similarly, radon 222 comes from radium 226 by alpha decay so the radiohalo of radium 226 would have 5 rings. This halo has only 3 rings and the size of the rings shows it is a polonium 218 radiohalo.
Polonium 218 Halo Cross Section
This fact that the radiohalo seen in Figure 17 is from polonium 218 is not controversial. It is universally agreed on by all scientists skilled in the art. This is why it is important. The half life of polonium 218 is 3 minutes! How can it be there if the earth is millions of years old? According to evolution the Precambrian granites were formed out of hot magma when the surface of the earth slowly cooled over hundreds of millions of years. Anything with a half life of mere minutes could not be present millions of years later. If polonium 218 was in the magna it would all be gone through radioactive decay long before the magma could cool to form granite rock. Radiohalos cannot be made in the magma, they are only created when an isotope emits alpha particles in the granite.
The only explanation for the existence of polonium 218 radiohalos is that the earth was formed nearly instantaneously and the magma was crystallized into granite in minutes before the polonium 218 could decay. The half life of 3 minutes means in 3 minutes only half of the original amount is still present. In another 3 minutes another one half is gone, leaving only one fourth of the original amount. Every 3 minutes another one half decays. After 7 half lives, here about 20 minutes, less than 1 percent of the original amount would be left and this would not be enough to make a halo. So there was less than 20 minutes from the time polonium 218 was created until the crystallization of the rock. God created the foundation rocks of earth in less time than most people spend on a coffee break.
This has not been explained by those who believe in evolution. It is called a “tiny mystery” that will eventually be explained. This led the scientist who discovered these halos, Robert Gentry, to call his book, Creations Tiny Mystery. Here is visual evidence that evolution is not true. It is undisputed that these are polonium 218 halos and also undisputed that the half life of polonium 218 is 3 minutes. These polonium 218 radiohalos are found in the Precambrian granites all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Scandinavia, India and even Mount Sinai. It is entirely possible that the ten commandments themselves are written on granite with polonium 218 halos.
There is one additional aspect of polonium halos that supports creation and specifically Noah’s flood. Radiohalos are also found above the Precambrian granites in the sedimentary layers created during the flood. Figure 18 is a polonium 210 halo. From Figure 13 we see that there is only one alpha decay from polonium 210 so there is only one ring.
Polonium 210 Halo
Some of the halos in the sedimentary layers are elliptical halos found in coalified wood (Next Figure). These halos must have been first formed as spheres in a gelatinous material and with the immense weight and pressure of overlying sediments the gelatinous material was compressed and spread to make the circle become an ellipse. This fact alone does not really tell us much about how they were formed or when they were formed. However these elliptical halos have been found in three different geological formations: the Triassic, 208 million years ago; Jurassic, 144 million years ago, and Eocene, and the Eocene of the Tertiary, 60 million years ago. Since they are in all these layers the layers were made at the same time. Think about it. There must be tremendous pressure of overlying sediment after the halo is made and while the material is still in a gelatinous condition that can be distorted. Once these layers are settled the coalified wood is solid and no further distortion occurs. There is a specific time interval that would be needed for the compression and distortion before obtaining the eventual stable position. This is a very unique event. The coalified wood would not be in a gelatinous condition millions of years later to have the spreading of the halos. The sequence of events is formation of the circular halo in gelatinous material, immense pressure above to spread the halo into an ellipse and then solidification of the material containing the new elliptical halo.
Elliptical Polonium 210 Halos
Since there are elliptical halos we know that that there was immense pressure above this material while it was in a gelatinous state. Since the elliptical halos are found in multiple formations the wood was in the same condition at the same time. The polonium 210 that became embedded in the wood came from flow of a uranium solution during the flood. Polonium 210 has a half life of 138 days and during this time circular halos were formed. The wood was then settled into all the layers at the same time during Noah’s flood. The condition of the wood to be able deformed to make the circular halo become elliptical is very unique, and the fact that they are seen in all these layers indicate they were made at the same time, not millions of years apart.
There is further evidence for the timing of the creation of elliptical polonium 210 halos. In the photographs of Figure 19 dual halos are seen. There is an outer elliptical halo and an inner circular halo. We understand the elliptical halos. How did a circular halo form in the center of the elliptical halo? After the compression of the wood there was still some radioactive element at the center that then made a new circular halo. This tells us a lot about the timing sequence. The radioactive element at the center of these dual halos is either polonium 210 as described, or possibly lead 210 that decayed into polonium 210. Figure 13 shows us lead 210 decays by beta decay so there would be no trace in the wood, no halo. The center could not be the ‘parent’ of lead 210, polonium 214 because this decays by alpha decay and there would be 2 rings. Since there is only on ring the center is either lead 210 or polonium 210. If the center of the halos is from polonium 210 we know that the time from deformation of the wood and creation of the elliptical halos to the time the wood was solidified is in the range of multiple half lives of polonium 210, which is 138 days. It is also possible that during the flood the flow of uranium solution containing these isotopes in the uranium 238 decay chain had lead 210 infiltrate the wood while in this deformable condition. Some of the lead 210 would decay in to polonium 210, make a circular halo, compression would make it elliptical, and later more lead 210 would decay to polonium 210 after the wood is solid and make the center circular halo. The half life of lead 210 is 22 years so this means that at most a few years had passed from the introduction of the uranium isotope flow until the wood was compressed.
It’s the flood! Noah’s flood caused the wood to be in all the layers. The wood was in this malleable, gelatinous condition all at the same time, was infiltrated with polonium 210 or lead 210, and as the earth settled the pressure of all the sedimentary layers compressed the layers below to form the elliptical halos. All of this happened pretty quickly because there are dual halos. The time from compression of the wood until it was solid must be consistent with the half life of lead 210 or polonium 210. Creation of the earth by God and Noah’s flood explains the evidence of radiohalos. Evolution and millions of years doesn’t. It all fits, it all makes perfect sense. Polonium 218 radiohalos are a signature of God at the creation of the world that requires an understanding of geology and nuclear physics to see. Dual polonium 210 halos is evidence of Noah’s flood.