2007-02-23 04:47:54 · 2 answers · asked by damas 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Geography
All living things incorporate both 12-C and 14-C into them while alive. When they die, they no longer incorporate any carbon, but the radioactive 14-C atoms decay at a very specific rate. By measuring the amount of 14-C left in an object, and knowing the half-life for the decay of this isotope you can estimate the age of the object.
2007-02-23 05:01:09 · answer #1 · answered by hcbiochem 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring isotope carbon-14 to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to about 60,000 years.[1] Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" (BP), "Present" being defined as AD 1950. Such raw ages can be calibrated to give calendar dates.
The technique of radiocarbon dating was discovered by Willard Frank Libby and his colleagues in 1949 during his tenure as a professor at the University of Chicago. Libby estimated that the steady state radioactivity concentration of exchangeable carbon-14 would be about 14 disintegrations per minute (dpm) per gram carbon (ca 230 mBq/g). In 1960, Libby was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his method to use carbon-14 (14C) for age determination.
I also just learned about this is geology. It doesn't work for things that are not old enough.
2007-02-23 13:40:03 · answer #2 · answered by shadow10262000 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋