Similarly misleading things can be found on the
page describing the "first lab tests" of the supposed petrified wood.
quote:
Laboratory analysis was performed on artifact labeled "deck timber". Galbraith Labs in Knoxville, Tennessee tested samples taken from within the "formation' and from without. All of the laboratory procedures were videotaped, including the taking the sample from the specimen, and the actual execution of the analyses.
Results of "inside" "outside" analysis:
The sample outside the formation showed a 1.88% carbon content; but the one from inside yielded a 4.95% carbon content, an amount that was consistent with the presence of prior living matter, such as decayed or petrified wood. It also showed a surprisingly high iron content.
Note:
Petrified wood is commonly known to contain organic carbon; but it is not known to be found in natural minerals. Compounds of carbon can be analyzed to determine whether they are composed of matter that was non-organic (non-living), or organic (living). Therefore, the one test to determine if an object was organic (once living), or not is to determine its organic carbon content.
Procedure:
Gail Hutchens, Vice President of Galbraith, suggested that they run an analysis for total carbon content. This would include both inorganic and organic. Then, they would test for inorganic Then, the two tests would be compared. By subtracting the amount of inorganic from the total amount, the amount of organic carbon would be determined.
Results of organic carbon testing:
The result was that it contained .71% total carbon. Inorganic carbon totalled .0081%. It contained .7019% ORGANIC CARBON- almost 100 times more organic than inorganic!
Now, I'm not a geologist. But I do know that while minerals, by definition, do not include organic carbon, ROCKS often do include it. Some sedimentary rock contains LOTS of it. Even volcanic rock can include it. For an actual chunk of fossil wood, I suspect that there would be considerably more than <1% organic C. So, trace amounts of OC in the sample do not particularly startle me.
Edited by Belfry, : changed to new subtitle
™ Version 4.2