SEARCHING FOR THE SECONDARY HALOS —It was clear to Gentry that many of the polonium halos in granite were of primary origin.

(1) There were no uranium or other parent halos with them. (2) Microscopic analysis had shown a lack of the damage pits. These microscopic "scars" on the rock would have been made by all passing uranium solutions, and without such marks left by nearby transient solutions, the polonium halos could not have formed as secondary halos; they could not be daughter products of the uranium chain. They would have to be primary polonium halos—etched on the granite within less than three minutes.

But, in response to his scientific reports on these findings, the objection continually raised by evolutionary scientists was that the polonium halos had to be of secondary origin; that is, caused by uranium solutions.

So Gentry decided to try and locate some actual secondary polonium specimens—and see what they were like. Perhaps they might have something special about them which would identify them as such.

THE RIGHT CONDITIONS NEEDED—But where to look? This was the question. Where would secondary polonium halos be formed? (1) There would have to be enough uranium nearby to produce them. (2) The polonium grain would have to be captured by something so the halos could form. (3) The substance would have to be open enough—loose enough—so the uranium solutions could easily pass through it.

The uranium had to pass through quickly, and there had to be little spaces in something that could catch those polonium atoms as the uranium passed by.

Finding original polonium halos in granite was no problem; finding secondary ones anywhere else was not going to be easy.

Gentry's book goes into interesting detail on this point as on many others. To tell the story briefly, from a fellow scientist he obtained pieces of wood that had partially turned to coal. This variety of samples came from uranium-rich sedimentary deposits in a region of the West known geologically as the Colorado Plateau. They had been discovered in uranium mines, many of which were now closed.

He found that the wood itself had been in a water-soaked gel-like condition at some earlier time. Uranium solutions passed rapidly through it, permitting uranium particles to be captured, which in turn produced secondary halos nearby.

MORE DISCOVERIES—Gentry knew that secondary polonium halos might well be different than his primary ones which were in the granite. And this he discovered to be true. The secondary polonium halos were different in a surprising way. But he learned far more: in those secondary polonium halos, he found evidence of the Flood!

The primary polonium halos were produced when the world was created; but the secondary ones in these samples occurred during the Flood. The granites were brought into existence at the beginning of earth's history. The sedimentary rock, containing fossils and these coalified wood samples, were laid down at the time of the Flood. The granite halos showed that each of the Creative Acts occurred very rapidly. The coalified wood specimens were to demonstrate another time factor,—the rapidity with which the rock strata were laid down.

According to the book of Genesis, the entire earth was covered with water for over a hundred days. The sediments were probably deposited into the strata primarily near the beginning of the Flood as the waters rose. The result was both the laying down of the sedimentary strata, and marked erosion into it, as is seen in the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

ONLY THE PO-210 HALO—When the specimens arrived, Gentry carefully examined them and found secondary polonium halos in greater numbers than the secondary uranium halos. Sometimes there were over a hundred of the polonium halos in just one square inch of a thin coalified wood section! They came from coalified wood specimens which were parts of trees growing just prior to the Flood.

But then came the great surprise: The polonium halos were all of only one type: polonium 210 (Po-210). Where were the Po-218 end Po214? They were totally missing!

How could this be? There was an abundance of Po-218 radiohalos in the granite; why not in the coalified wood? Then Gentry realized it was but another proof of origins.

There were Po-218 halos in the granite, because the granite solidified—or was created —in far less than three minutes time, so its three-minute half life could produce the Po-218 halo. But no Po-218 or Po-214 halos could form (in the conditions imposed by the Flood.

Po-210 has a half life of 138.4 days. Po-214 has a half life of 164 microseconds. Po-218 has a half life of 3 minutes. Compare the three and what do you find? Only Po-210 halos were in the coalified wood, because those isotopes survive long enough for them to be captured from the infiltrating uranium solutions before they decayed away. Whereas, the other two have half lives of only minutes or split-seconds. The latter two (Po-218 and Po-214) decayed away to something else before they could accumulate at a capture point on the wood. The sizable amount of uranium in that area had provided abundant opportunity for uranium-rich solutions to deposit polonium on the wood, but the Po-218 and Po-214 made their halos as soon as they separated from the uranium, so their halos were not marked as separate polonium 218 or 214 halos on the wood.

ONLY THREE WAYS TO ORIGINATE—The difference lies in the fact that we are here dealing with secondary, not primary polonium halos.

Polonium halos can only occur in one of three ways:

First, they could occur as daughter products in the uranium 238 chain, and be etched on the granite ALONG WITH the uranium and other halos.

Second, they could occur as in the Colorado Plateau, and be secondary halos sent out from passing uranium solutions. In this case, the experimental evidence shows that only the Po-210, halo actually formed. This is the isotope with the 138.4 day half life. The Po-218 and Po-214 atoms, with their much shorter half lives, decayed away before they could be captured into the tiny centers.

Third, they could be original—primary halos that were in the granite WHEN it first came into existence.

ELLIPTICAL HALOS—Most of the halos in the coalified wood were elliptical.

Whereas the granite halos were always round, most of those in the wood samples looked like circles that had been squashed somewhat.

This is what happened:

Uranium solutions had infiltrated water-soaked wood from recently living trees. The Po-210 atoms were caught by lead and selenium, and in less than a year, secondary Po-210 halos developed as they emitted alpha particles.

The alpha particles radiated outward and made perfect circles. But wood is not solid like granite.

Pressure from overlying sediments increased, and the gel-like wood was pushed slightly out of shape as it was compressed under more and more weight.

ONE FLOOD OR SEVERAL?—The samples sent to Gentry came from three widely-spaced areas, and each location was from geological deposits (Eocene, Jurassic, and Triassic) that evolutionists declare to be millions of years apart from each other! Did one flood cause these three groups of samples, or did three different floods cause them?

Seven important facts help answer this question:

(1) The elliptical pattern was essentially the same in all the samples. This is significant. (2) The basic ingredients had to all be there: the water, uprooted trees, rich uranium source nearby, the subsequent compression event. (3) The gel-like condition of all the wood showed that it came from living trees recently uprooted. While in that gel-like condition, the wood had to be quickly infiltrated by the uranium. But there had be the right amount of water present, not too much or too little. (4) Uranium from a recently dissolved nearby deposit had to arrive. (5) The water had to penetrate the wood after the uranium solution penetrated the wood, not before it did) (8) The wood had to be infiltrated before it was compressed. (7) The uranium solutions had to permeate the wood before it turned to coal.

It is clear that infiltration of a single-source uranium solution occurred at a nearly simultaneous time in all these wood samples.

EVOLUTIONARY THEORY OP STRATA DISPROVED —Evolutionary theory teaches that these samples came from three rock strata that were separated by millions of years. It is theorized that millions of years elapsed between the time when those recently living trees had Po-210 halos formed in them. But the seven facts, described above, would have had to occur three times: Within Eocene rock strata—35-60 million years ago; within Jurassic rock strata—135-180 million years ago; and within Triassic rock strata—180-230 million years ago!

According to commonly-accepted evolutionary theories of strata dating, the first averages 72 million years before the second, and the third averages 47 million years after the second. Such a repetition of complex events seems improbable. In addition, the occurrence of the elliptical secondary Po-21 0 halos in specimens from all three of these locations establishes that the wood samples were all in the same gel-like condition when infiltrated by a uranium solution. All this data fits a single Flood perfectly.

DUAL PO-210 HALOS—Additional dating information came from the discovery of dual Po-210 halos. One round halo would have a second squashed and fainter halo superimposed over it. Gentry realized that the halo centers, composed of lead and selenium, could also have captured another uranium daughter product, lead 210 (Pb210). (Pb-210 decays to BI-210, which then decays to Po-21 0.) Since the half life of Pb-210 is about 22 years, a second halo could develop within another 20 years from that original grain. The first halo had one-half of the total Po-210 alpha particles; it made the halo that later became squashed into an ellipse. Then the wood was pressed under weight, and the second halo formed. It remained round because no more pressure was being applied. If the deformation of the wood—from additional material piled on top of it—had been completed within a few years, then, on top of the first squashed halo, a second halo could form that was round.

Clearly, there was considerable readjustment and deformation for several years after the Flood was completed. And frequently, as shown by the halos that were only elliptical, this went on for a number of years thereafter.

RAPID DEPOSITION—The coalified wood in the sediments, where these samples were collected, ranged in size from small fragments to entire lengthy tree trunks, complete with roots and branches. Some of the coalified fragments were, surprisingly enough, still flexible when first retrieved. But shortly thereafter, they became brittle as they dried. This flexibility of some freshly collected wood fragments strongly suggests that they were very rapidly deposited where they have now been found. We do not have here some slow age-long activity, but rather a quick cataclysm of immense proportions.

WOOD SPECIMEN CONCLUSIONS—(1) Uranium to lead ratios were found suggesting that the various Colorado Plateau formations are only several thousand years old, Instead of the 60 to 200 million-year age required by the evolutionary time scale! (2) The coalification process (whereby plants can turn into coal) can occur in a year or less!

6 - FALSIFICATION TEST

A FALSIFICATION TEST—By the time Gentry had published these latest findings, it was clear to a growing number in the scientific community that he must be dealt with. Reply after reply was published in scientific journals, denying the logic, implications, practicality, and methodology of his work. Finally, Gentry published a challenge:

His Po-218 discoveries in granite were incontestable, and they established that the granite containing those Po-218 halos came into existence with the grains of that quick-dying polonium already in them. In addition, there was the equally amazing fact that these Po-218 halos were to be numbered in the trillions of trillions, and comprised the basement rock undergirding all the continents of earth!

Clearly, the Po-218 halos pointed their fingers at the granite they were in, and proclaimed, "Look here, this rock was made almost instantly!"

So Robert Gentry proposed a "falsification test." It was clear that the granite was no ordinary type of rock. It was not the result of sedimentation or metamorphic pressure. So where did it come from? Scientific theory claimed it was the product of molten lava which had cooled into its present solidity.

If that is true, sold Gentry, then reproduce the process and I will believe you! He specifically asked them to (1) produce just one fist-sized piece of solid, coarse-grained granite from molten rock, or (2) produce just one Po218 halo in it. He asked that they do either one or both of these accomplishments.

He encouraged them in the task, mentioning that there was an enormous mass of granite in the world, containing enormous numbers of Po-218 halos; so it should be simple enough for the scientists, with the complicated laboratory equipment now available to them, to produce just a little piece of it, and place just one halo on that piece.

At the later Creation-Evolution trial in Arkansas (a fascinating story in itself, which Gentry discusses in detail in his book), a witness for the evolutionary community told the court that, yes, the scientists had tried to produce that piece of granite from molten rock, but without any success.

WHY THE TEST CANNOT BE DONE—The problem is that granite never came from molten rock in the first place! A peach tree cannot be changed into an apple tree, and molten rock—even molten granite—cannot be hardened into granite.

First, there its the problem of trying to produce granite: The granite has large crystals, and is composed of light-colored crystals, plus darker crystals. When it is melted down, and then hardened again, the result is rhyolite, a light-colored, fine crystal rock. Gabbro is a dark rock with large crystals. When melted down, and rehardened, it will cool to form basalt, a fine-grained black rock. Granite and gabbro are both Genesis rocks. They cannot be formed now.

Second, there is the problem of trying to produce primary polonium 218 halos in granite: it simply cannot be done by man in a laboratory, no matter how hard he tries to do it! He cannot produce one anywhere, much less inside granite. But in order to match the great original of Creation, he needs to produce it WITHIN the granite he has made,—inside the mica, and it must be free from those alpha-recoil damage pits nearby. This would establish that the the polonium halo was not the product of contaminating nearby uranium. In addition, the experiment should be able to be duplicated by other research scientists.

Well, by now the possibility of duplicating those polonium halos in a laboratory does indeed look hopeless. And it is. Man can never do what God can do.

B - OTHER FACTORS

ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE FOR EARLY AGE —After working out the basic data on polonium halos, Robert Gentry was given the opportunity to do research on rock cores from a very deep 15,000-foot [4,572 meter]-hole in a granite formation in New Mexico. It had been dug by the U.S. Department of Energy to explore the possibility of using the high-temperature rock at the bottom of the hole as a heat exchanger to generate steam energy. In this "hot-dry-rock experiment," as it was called, water was sent down to the bottom and then turned into steam which was drawn back up.

Core sections were taken at five different depths, between 3,000 and 15,000 feet (914 and 4,572 m], during the drilling operation. Each of those cores contained small samples of the radioactive mineral zircon.

WHAT WOULD ZIRCON ANALYSIS PROVE—Zircon only occurs as a small crystal. It is a semi-precious stone which may be one of many shades of red, green, or blue. A colorless variety is often used as a diamond substitute.

Zircon crystals naturally contain a small amount of both uranium and thorium, which gradually turns into radiogenic lead. Some of this lead is continually escaping from the zircon. On the surface of the earth, the moderate temperature results in a very slow release of the lead from the zircon. But the lead would escape much more rapidly at the bottom of that nearly 3-mile [4.8 km] hole, where the immensely high temperatures are always about 313C [595.4F). That is over 200C [392F]. higher than the surface temperature of boiling water!

If the granites In New Mexico are over a billion years old, as uniformitarian geology teaches, then, at such a high temperature, all the lead in the zircon crystals would have diffused out long ages ago. But if granite was only 6,000 years old, then most of the lead would still be within it—even at those high temperatures.

RESULTS OF ZIRCON ANALYSIS—Careful examination of zircon crystals, at the five levels extracted from the granite cores, revealed that essentially none of the lead had diffused out, even from the bottom core samples!

This provided powerful evidence for a young age of the granite underlying the continent.

HELIUM ANALYSIS AND A YOUNG EARTH —In these zircon experiments, Gentry also analyzed their content of the rare gas helium. The results of that examination provided even more proof for a youthful age of the earth.

WHAT WOULD THE HELIUM PROVE?—When uranium and thorium decay, they leave helium behind. This is because the alpha particles emitted in the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium, are in reality helium atoms that have been stripped of their electrons. So helium is produced as a result of uranium and thorium decay; when the helium departs, lead ultimately is produced. That is why helium is to be found in the zircon crystals.

Since helium is a gas, it can diffuse out of those crystals much more rapidly than lead, which is a solid. Research had already established that helium passes out of various minerals, such as zircon, even at room temperature. Since heat always increases chemical and molecular activity, the helium would escape far more rapidly at the extremely high temperatures at the bottom of that 15,000-foot [4,572 m] hole.

Scientists had already given up trying to use helium content to ascertain the age of minerals at or near the earth's surface, since it escapes so quickly at moderate temperatures. So one would expect that almost all the helium in hot zircon deeper in the earth would be gone by now, since scientific theory says that the earth is over a billion years old.

But if the world were created only about 6,000 years ago, helium might still be in those 15,000 foot-deep zircons!

RESULTS OF HELIUM ANALYSIS—Gentry tested those zircon samples for helium—and found amazingly high retention of helium even at 197C (386.6F). This directly contradicted the evolutionary theory of the age of the earth. The evidence from geology and other sciences for a young earth continually increases. But Gentry considers this zircon/helium evidence to be one of the strongest of these evidences. The earth came into being only a few thousand years ago, rather than over five billion years ago.

HAS THERE BEEN A CHANGE IN THE DECAY RATES?— Rigorous examination of rock halos all over the world have shown that each radioactive isotope has always produced halos that are the same size. That is good information, for it helps prove the truth that the halos of Po-218 come from Po-218 and not from some other isotope. That fact makes the great truth about Po-218 all the more certain.

But even if decay rates had changed, it would not particularly affect polonium, since it decays so very rapidly! If the half life rate of uranium 238 were shortened by one-half, it would reduce its radioactive life by millions of years; if the half life of polonium 218 were halved, its life would only be 45 seconds shorter.

Regardless of whether an isotope decayed fast or slowly, it would still make halos of the same diameter—for halo size is dependent not on decay rate but on the electrical charge of the isotope.

It is of interest that there could have been a change in the decay rates. Conditions in the world were dramatically changed at the time of the Flood, which occurred about 4,300 years ago. These changes will be discussed in more detail in chapter 7 and 19 (Dating Methods and Effects of the Flood).

Then there is what creationists call "the appearance of age. " At the time of Creation, most things would have been created in maturity, not infancy. Chickens would appear to be about a year old, rather than unhatched eggs. Fish would appear full-grown, rather than minnows. A majority of trees would be full grown rather than seeds on the ground.

In like manner, one would expect that some radioactive isotopes would be partway through their decay chain, while others would have completed it.

All these are factors which must be taken into account.

NO URANIUM IN THE CENTERS—A key objection is that the polonium halos are somehow descended from uranium 238. But if the isolated polonium halos in granite (which are polonium 218, 214, and 210) were there because of some prior contamination by uranium 238,—atoms of that U-238 would have to be in the central grain of each of those isolated Po-218, Po-214, and Po-210 radiohalos. But it is not there! "Well," someone might reply, "that is because the uranium is entirely gone by now." No, for uranium has such an extremely long half life (4.5 billion years—for just its FIRST half life), that there would definitely be lots of it in the central grain even now—IF the polonium were caused by, descended from, or secondary to the uranium!

All normal radiohalos derived from uranium 238 always reveal the U-238 rings, and also contain both uranium and lead in their central grains. (Polonium radio halos only have lead in their central grains, since the polonium is entirely extinct. It long ago transmuted to lead.)

THE LEAD 206/LEAD 207 RATIO IS TOO HIGH—There is another supporting evidence in all the polonium halos, evidence that shows they were placed within the granite and other Genesis rocks ALONE, apart from any uranium. It is a powerful evidence that polonium is primary, not secondary:

(1) For purposes of simplification, we have said that uranium 238 begins the chain which ends with polonium and lead 206. But, in actuality, there is also a small amount of uranium 235 (U-235) mixed in with all the U-238. (There is only 1/138th as much U-235 as there is U-238 within each combined grain which, throughout this study, we have called "U-238.") (2) The end product of uranium 238 (U-238) is lead 206 (Pb206). The end product of uranium 235 (U-235) is lead 207 (Pb-207). (3) The end product is a lead 206/207 mixture. It came from the decay of U238/235. (4) There always are some traces of the uranium in its end product, lead 206 and 207. (5) When uranium-bearing mineral is examined, it is found to have a lead 206/lead 207 ratio of 6 to 13 (6 to 13 [depending on the sample] lead 206 to 1 lead 207) (6) When "common lead" (lead not derived from a radioactive source) is examined, it has a correct ratio of 1 to 1 (1 isotope of lead 206 to 1 of lead 207).

(7) But when the grains in the center of the extinct polonium halos are examined, the surprising fact is that the ratio is 1 to 30-60! (30-60 of lead 206 [30 to 60, depending on the individual sample tested] to 1 of lead 207)! This is far too much lead 206, and reveals that the polonium halos are indeed unique, and NOT a product of the uranium 238-235 chain! This is a very important point.

HOW IS THAT ANALYSIS MADE?—How can such minute quantities of atoms be counted? It is done with a mass spectrometer. A narrow beam is focused on the grain in the center of the halo. One by one, atoms are ionized and taken into a magnetic field where they are analyzed. The equipment needed to perform such exacting measurements as this is very expensive and has only been developed within the past few decades.

THE UNIQUE RING STRUCTURES OF POLONIUM—A major objection by Darwinists to the evidence of the polonium 218 halos, is that they were somehow, in some way caused by uranium 238.

Of course, we know they are different because the polonium radiohalos have only polonium rings. The U-238, U-234, Th-230, Ra-226, Rn-222 rings are missing; entirely missing! They should be there if these polonium halos derived from uranium 238. This is an evidence that the polonium halos are not daughter products of uranium, which means that that they are not secondary to it! The polonium halos originated with polonium grains—and not from any other source!

But there is still another intriguing evidence that the polonium halos were never, in any manner, derived or descended from uranium 238. They are original and underived, thus establishing an almost instant creation of the granite they are located in. This is another important evidence not mentioned earlier in this study:

SUNBURST PATTERN MISSING—There is a sunburst pattern of delicate needles radiating outward from uranium-originated radiohalos. These fission tracks appear only after the mica is etched with hydrofluoric acid. When that is done, fission trails appear to view. They look like straight lines going out in all directions from the grain in the center of the halos. Actually, these are damage trails—or straight-line marks—etched in the mica by the fission fragments from uranium fission as they shoot out from the central grain.

But there are none of these sunburst damage trails to be seen radiating outward from these isolated, polonium grains. Polonium radiohalos lack these special damage trails! This fact is another evidence showing that the polonium halos are unrelated to the decay of uranium, and are not secondary to them!

If the polonium halos were secondary, they would reveal the typical sunburst pattern. Because they are primary, they lack them entirely.

Within the isolated polonium grains and halos in granite is to be found the evidence that proves an almost instantaneous creation of the granite. And within the polonium grains and halos is to be found the proof that the message of those radiohalos is indeed true.

The central polonium grains are unique, having as they do a completely different lead 206/207 ratio than lead derived from uranium.

The central polonium grains are also different in that they have no uranium 238 atoms.

The rings of the polonium radiohalo are different from the rings of the uranium 238 radiohalo, having only three rings, whereas uranium 238 has five of them.

Between the polonium grain and its halo, there is no sunburst pattern, as there is in the uranium 238 radiohalo.

7 - SUMMARY

SUMMARY OF DISCOVERIES—Here is a brief overview of some of these findings of Robert Gentry and their implications:

1 - There are many polonium 218, 214, and 210 halos in granite,—in fact, careful specimen counts and extrapolations based on them, reveal that there are trillions upon trillions of them in granites all over the world.

2 - The vast majority of these polonium 218, 214, and 210 radiohalos have no uranium 238 halos with them.

3 - The primary polonium 218 halos are totally independent of radioactive parents. They are original in all rock in which they are found. There is no evidence that they were caused by uranium in the central grain, or by passing uranium streams.

4 - These independent Po-218 halos develop their half life halo in only three minutes, so the radiohalos had to be in those rocks when the rocks were first brought into existence.

5- The rock in which they are found had to be solid at the time it was brought into existence.

6 - Since Po-218 halos are found by the trillions throughout all the granites of the world, that granite had to originally become solid in far less than three minutes, when it was first created, in order for the Po-218 halos to form properly.

7 - Since this granite is the basement rock, forming a thick layer, with the continents of the world above it and the basalt and magma below it, all this continental foundation apparently was created in less than three minutes time. With this fact in mind, there is little reason to expect the magma below and the continents above to have been formed in millions of years, if the granite between them was formed in less than three minutes.

8 - The alpha-recoil technique has proven that these isolated, independent Po-218 halos were definitely not caused by "passing uranium or other radioactive solutions" as theorized by critics of this discovery. Alpha-recoil reveals that radioactive damage trails are always left by passing radioactive solutions.

9 - The granites should not be classified with the igneous rocks (all of which came from molten rock), but rather as primordial or Genesis rocks. Granite (generally almost white in color) is original in its present solid form, and is not secondary to a prior cooling from the black basalt beneath it, or from anything else.

10 - Granite with its large crystals cannot be made from any molten rock, including molten granite!

11- Po-218, Po-214, and Po-21 0 halos cannot be reproduced in the laboratory. No one can give an acceptable explanation of how independent polonium could have gotten in those granites in the first place. It is an impossible situation, but there they are.

12 - Polonium halos are often examined in mica from granite. But fluorite, another large granite mineral, also has polonium halos. Unlike mica, fluorite is a totally solid mineral, and polonium halos imbedded within it are the same as though they were imbedded in solid, thick, unflawed glass.

13 - Research into true secondary polonium halos revealed that only polonium 210 (and not also 214 or 218) halos are to be found within coalified wood. This is due to the fact that secondary Po-214 and Po-218, with their very short half lives, could not escape and relocate rapidly enough from uranium parents to form halos.

14 - The presence of Po-210 halos in the wood reveals a very rapid deposition of the wood during a flood.

15 - Elliptical (squashed) Po-210 halos reveal that rapid covering of this wood occurred, as material was piled on top of it.

16 - The existence of double Po-210 halos reveals that rapid formation of the rock strata above the coalified wood occurred, for within only a few decades, the increase of pressure from additional overlay material had stopped occurring.

17 - Because these wood samples came from three different geological strata levels, separated according to evolutionary theory by millions of years, and because the seven major events that happened to one group of samples happened to them all,—firm evidence is thus provided that a single Flood (i.e., occurring at one time in history) was responsible for the rapid deposition of all these strata. This is a strong evidence against evolutionary dating of the rock strata of earth.

18 - Analysis of zircon crystals, from five levels of hot rock in a 15,000-foot hole, revealed that almost no increase of lead escape had occurred at even the lowest level. This is powerful evidence in favor of a young earth, and is consistent with a 6,000-year age.

19 - Analysis of helium content in those small zircon crystals revealed amazingly high retention in 197 C. zircon crystals. This provides a double proof for a very young age for the earth.

20 - The lead 206/lead-207 ratio is too high, which is an additional evidence that the independent polonium halos were not originally derived from uranium.

21 - Another strong evidence that the independent polonium halos are unique, and not daughter products of uranium, is the fact that the ring structures of polonium are different than those in uranium-chain halos. The sunburst pattern of delicate needle fission tracks, always seen in uranium radiohalo chains after etching, is totally missing from polonium radiohalos.

A CLOSER LOOK AT GRANITE—As we gaze upon the granite with its multitude of closely packed crystals, it is as if we are gazing into a sea of small clear and black diamonds. Then we try to pull a piece of it apart, but we are not able to do so, for granite is one of the most solid of all the rocks in nature.

And then a question comes to mind: what holds these crystals together?

Wondering about this, the present writer asked Robert Gentry for the answer. Bob Gentry was not too concerned about the matter. "Oh, it all is just held together by interlocking molecular forces, much like steel or plastic."

"But it is all composed of separate crystals, many of them totally different in chemical composition. How can this be?" was the next question.

"No problem; that is just the way it is. It is just held together by electrical bonds between atoms." Then he added this: "An interesting fact is that if you look at granite under a microscope, there are no voids,—no empty places in it. This is why the scientists thought it had cooled from magma [molten rock],—because the crystals are so tightly packed and with no voids."

Granite is a marvelous substance. Imagine pressing a lot of crystals together—and having them stay there! These are dry, solid crystals. If you think that is of little consequence, take a handful of sand in each hand—and press it together into rock. Many of the crystals in sand are identical to those in granite.

The Creator took those beautiful crystals found in granite, and set them closely together—so close that they all fit perfectly together—with no spaces between them. And then He took what would seem to be the weakest of rocks—merely crystals pressed together—and by His order it became one of the strongest. This special rock He then set as the foundation undergirding the continents.

"Oh," someone will say, "that's nothing unusual; it was just made under great pressure."

Well, if that is so, then consider sandstone. Composed of crystals similar to granite, under immense pressure at the time of the Flood it was pressed into rock. It ought to be just as hard and durable. But you would never try to use sandstone for foundation stones of a large building.

LOOKING INTO THE PAST—About 6,000 years ago, the Creator drew near this part of the vast reaches of interstellar space. He bent low and, to say it simply, placed here the core of our planet, and then overlay that with a mantle of basaltic rock. Above that He set the granite in place.

Did He press its large crystals into place with His hands? No, He just spoke them into existence in their present compact form.

And then, as a final touch, by His Word He scattered polonium halos all through that granite!

Why did He put those halos there? They are so tiny; what useful purpose could they serve?

He did it for you and for me. In kindness, knowing that in our time in history—in these last days,—we would discover them, He placed those crystals there to help us recognize His creatorship.

A great wealth of scientific discoveries has been made in our century. And the implications of much of it have been twisted by men intent on shutting the Creator out of His creation, so men will not praise Him for His marvelous works.

But then we found those little halos in the granite. They reveal that the creation of each of the many parts of our world required less than a few minutes' time to come into being.

He did that to help us know Him . . and love Him . . and thank Him . . for all He has done for us.

What will be my response? What will be yours?

THIS STUDY—The material in this study is based upon pages 12-37, 40, 47, 51-59, 65-66, 163-164, and 169-170 of Robert V. Gentry's book, Creation's Tiny Mystery, plus additional background material by the present writer.

YOUR COPY OF THE BOOK—You may obtain your own copy of Robert Gentry's invaluable 316-page book, Creation's Tiny Mystery, by sending $12.95, plus $2.00 to cover shipping charges, to Earth Science Associates, Box 12067, Knoxville, TN 37912.