Carbon 14 is used for radio carbon dating. its measured by decay of radioactive elements. how dangerous is it, if at all
2006-06-16 06:06:51 · 6 answers · asked by 1crazypj 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
It is not dangerous at all. 14C is present in everything that contains carbon to the tune of 0.0000000001%, including people. In other words, 0.0000000001% of the carbon in your body is 14C. A coal plant would have to give off roughly 1 TRILLION pounds of carbon waste in order to generate 1 pound of 14C. Even then, as radioactive emissions go, the two neutrons ejected from a 14C nucleus are not particularly dangerous. More than that, 14C has a half life of over 5000 years. So, even if the coal plants of the world eventually did manage to generate a pound of 14C, it would take over 5000 years for just half of it to decay to 12C. Really not something to lose any sleep over.
2006-06-16 07:19:11 · answer #1 · answered by nardhelain 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
C14 has a half life of ~5700 years. This means that if you start with 1 Curie of C14, after 5700 years you will have 1/2 of one Curie left. There is a natural ratio of C12 and C14. You have this fixed ratio in your body right now. Once you stop living, you stop taking in new carbon at the natural ratio. Then, as your remains decay over time, less and less of the carbon on your remains will be C14, changing at the rate of decay of the half life mentioned above. Therefore, after 5700 years, there would be 1/2 the amount, after 11400 years 1/4 the amount, etc. C14 is in no way dangerous, even in its completely concentrated form.
2006-06-16 06:45:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-11-14 20:50:33 · answer #3 · answered by wansley 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a lot more since they started putting in scrubbers to "clean the air" the soot used to help contain it.....arent environmentalists wonderful...good clean radioactive air si better than sooty black less radioactive air any day
2006-06-16 06:11:45 · answer #4 · answered by Jack Kerouac 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
None, unless you're getting your coal from a uranium mine.
2006-06-16 06:16:10 · answer #5 · answered by Bruce H 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is not radioactive
2006-06-16 06:10:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋