Some HBs say some 20 pounds were brought back by robots, some say Earth rocks were "irradiated" (not sure I get this one...)...
Now samples have been lent to the international community by NASA, and it seems that some of the most convincing arguments are in the age of the rocks, far older than anything accessable on Earth.
Is there any way that Earth rocks can be manipulated to appear older. I can only guess no as it would involve Carbon 14 decay property alteration...

Thoughts?

Dave

Carbon 14 only work with biological stuff. Also, the timescale isn't very large, you can only date a few ten thousand years.
For dating rocks, you use decay of elements with a much longer half-life period. Some Uranium decays have half-life periods of billion of years.

Harald

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I think it is a lot easier to manipulate your data and make stuff up than it is to alter the rocks in that fashion.

I forget what the real old dating method uses, Strontium? Cesium?

Strontium is a possibility, and seems the most probable method used for dating old rocks. There are many other types of radiometric dating, but they are mainly used for other things, not for your average rock.

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As has been stated, you can't carbon date a rock. Other techniques may work (there are several assumptions that are made with Radiometric dating that I don't tend to agree with which would alter the results) however even without dating data there is plenty of evidence as to the Lunar Rock autheticity.

Firstly it was 380 pounds of Lunar Material, not 20, and there were core samples and soil scoops as well, not just rocks

The samples were photographed in situ.

The samples show that they were formed without the presence of water, something not even considered prior to the Apollo samples being analysed.

The samples show that they cooled extremely slowly (over 10 years, most likely hundreds) in the crystalistion of the rocks.

The samples show deformation lines that show they were formed in 1/6 gravity

The samples show they have been exposed to cosmic radiation over a very long period.

The samples are covered in micrometeor pits.

The samples are chemically similar to the Russian return samples from the early 1970's.

The samples are chemiclly similar to recovered Lunites, the first being found in 1979 and being identified only in 1981. (Lunar meteorites)

The samples are consistant with the chemical mapping of their landing sites on the moon by the Clemintine probe in the late 1990's, including that many of them have higher radioisotopes after being collected in a "hotspot" on the moon.

If that's not enough to convince people that these are real moon rocks picked up and carried from the moon by men, nothing will.

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Howling from the Shadows

It must be fun to lead a life completely unburdened by reality. --- JayUtah

You can't reason an irrational person out of an irrational belief. --- Noclevername

Apollo: The History and the Hoax
Enter the World of Athran

And here's a list of just the scientists who had put their names forward to investigate the rocks and soil samples prior to Apollo 11 in July 1969.

http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...=407728#407728

It is even more than that. It was 380 kilograms, or about 840 pounds.

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Of course it is. See what happens when I mix drinks... I mean unit standards.

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Howling from the Shadows

It must be fun to lead a life completely unburdened by reality. --- JayUtah

You can't reason an irrational person out of an irrational belief. --- Noclevername

Apollo: The History and the Hoax
Enter the World of Athran

<insert cheap-shot at JPL vis-a-vis Mars probes here>

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"Transport of the mails, transport of the human voice, transport of flickering pictures - in this century, as in others, our highest accomplishments still have the single aim of bringing men together." St. Exupery

That should be one Mars probe, the Mars Climate Orbiter.

BTW, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launches in 32 days! 8)

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"Cheap shots" by definition, are only accurate at a passing glance.
8) =D> [rant]In truth, I think that JPL is the only NASA unit that still does useful work any more. Well, I guess the Hubble team, too. No offense to the Manned Spaceflight people - they do keep the Dream alive - but we're getting very little value for dollar spent.[/rant]

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"Transport of the mails, transport of the human voice, transport of flickering pictures - in this century, as in others, our highest accomplishments still have the single aim of bringing men together." St. Exupery