RE: C-14 Dating

["David Richards" <DJRichards@msn.com>]

 -----Original Message-----
From:	radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu  On Behalf Of Erik C. Nielsen

Australian botanists find 43,000-year-old plant
     
Where did I miss the boat?

Erik, perhaps you're just thinking thoughts too deep for this interesting 
little article. The way I read it, carbon dating was only performed on the 
"fossilized remains in the forest floor". What I believe they are saying is 
that those fossilized remains are genetically identical to the living plant 
and because of the natural cloning observed, it seems to indicate that the 
plant has been continuously living for the entire period because they are 
technically all the same plant.

Are you the same Erik Neilsen I met years ago on the power plant outage 
circuit? DC Cook perhaps? Memories from those times are getting a little 
foggy. Must have been the radiation. :-)

DJ Richards
Radiological Services, Inc.
New London, CT