Carbon Dating?

Question

Can someone please explain to me the process of carbon dating? How it works, how accurate it is, etc.
Brief explanation with key points is acceptable. Thanks.

Answer 1

Basically, there is X amount of radioactive carbon in every organism. When the organism dies, the carbon starts to decay. It decreases by 50% every 5568±30 years.

For example, if it started out with 1,000 carbon molecules, in 5,568 years, there would be only 500, then 250, then 125, etc...

Answer 2

Simple:

Every living tissue (plant or animal) absorbs a certain amount of radioactive carbon isotope (C-14) during its lifetime. Once the plant/animal dies, the carbon starts deteriorating. Every so many thousand years, half of the carbon atoms will have decayed and become a different type of atom.

By analyzing how many total C-14 atoms there are, and how many of the other carbon isotope there are, by a mathematic calculation we can determine the age of the material.

C-14 is fairy accurate. Suffice it to say that it was accurate enough to say that the Shroud of Turin was created/woven/painted a few hundred years after the death of Jesus on the cross. Thus it could not be the shroud used to clothe his body while in the grave.

Clear enough?

Answer 3

A very small % of C on Earth is called C-14. It is one isotope of normal C (known as C-12). C-14 happens to be a radio-isotope which will decompose through nuclear decay to form N. While things are alive they constantly bring in new C (and C-14) through ingestion of C-based food and CO2. When an organism dies it no longer brings in more C. The C-12 does not change, but the C-14 will decompose at a known rate over time. You measure the amount of C-14 left in the sample and can calculate how long that material has been lifeless. C-14 dating only works on things that were once alive. It does not work on rocks because they don't contain C.

Answer 4

Just works on living things that have died.

Cosmic rays enter the earth's atmosphere in large numbers every day. For example, every person is hit by about half a million cosmic rays every hour. It is not uncommon for a cosmic ray to collide with an atom in the atmosphere, creating a secondary cosmic ray in the form of an energetic neutron, and for these energetic neutrons to collide with nitrogen atoms. When the neutron collides, a nitrogen-14 (seven protons, seven neutrons) atom turns into a carbon-14 atom (six protons, eight neutrons) and a hydrogen atom (one proton, zero neutrons). Carbon-14 is radioactive, with a half-life of about 5,700 years.

As soon as a living organism dies, it stops taking in new carbon. The ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 at the moment of death is the same as every other living thing, but the carbon-14 decays and is not replaced. The carbon-14 decays with its half-life of 5,700 years, while the amount of carbon-12 remains constant in the sample. By looking at the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 in the sample and comparing it to the ratio in a living organism, it is possible to determine the age of a formerly living thing fairly precisely

How radioactive the carbon-14 is determines how old it is.

Answer 5

ok, C-14 is radioactive, which means it radiates particles. it will be converted into C-13 by the rate of its half life.
in other words it takes so long fo half of it to become nucleially stable
C-14 has a half lif of 5730 years, which means with a certain equation, it is possible to calculate how old something is by how much C-14 is left in the object

Answer 6

I used to believe in it

they just show some sexy samples from the cretacious or the devonian

then it doesn't seem to pan out unless you pay the $6.95

even then the best samples are taken and/or crazy

Answer 7

This should help

http://www.howstuffworks.com/carbon-14.htm

Answer 8

.I would tell you if i remembered but go to http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c007.html. that will probably help you.