What is Carbon dating?
Carbon dating is a method used to determine the age of organic materials that are up to around 50,000 years old.
It is based on the fact that all living organisms contain a small amount of radioactive carbon-14 (14C), which is formed in the atmosphere when nitrogen-14 is bombarded with cosmic radiation.
When an organism dies, it stops taking in new carbon-14, and the existing 14C begins to decay at a steady rate, with a half-life of approximately 5,730 years.
By measuring the amount of 14C remaining in an organic sample, scientists can calculate how long ago the organism died.
Carbon dating is widely used in archaeology, anthropology, and geology to date ancient artifacts, human remains, and geological events.
However, it has limitations, such as the need for organic material and the assumption that the sample has not been contaminated with modern carbon.
Carbon dating is a method used to determine the age of organic materials that are up to around 50,000 years old.
It is based on the fact that all living organisms contain a small amount of radioactive carbon-14 (14C), which is formed in the atmosphere when nitrogen-14 is bombarded with cosmic radiation.
When an organism dies, it stops taking in new carbon-14, and the existing 14C begins to decay at a steady rate, with a half-life of approximately 5,730 years.
By measuring the amount of 14C remaining in an organic sample, scientists can calculate how long ago the organism died.
Carbon dating is widely used in archaeology, anthropology, and geology to date ancient artifacts, human remains, and geological events.
However, it has limitations, such as the need for organic material and the assumption that the sample has not been contaminated with modern carbon.