How does carbon dating tell us how old a fossil is?

Answer 1

--- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dating

Answer 2

Dates can be calculated because of the presence in the atmosphere of the radioactive isotope, carbon 14. Carbon 14 is produced as a result of bombardment by high-energy particles from outer space and occurs in small amounts as heavy carbon dioxide. Plant cells use CO2 to make glucose and other organic molecules. All animals + plants are directly or indirectly dependent on this carbon process for food, thus a fixed proportion of carbon atoms in the tissues of all living things is radioactive carbon 14. After death, no more carbon is ingested, so the proportions shift, with the radioactive carbon 14 decaying slowly and the non-radioactive carbon C12 remaining the same. By measuring the ratio of C14 to C12 in a fossil or even in a man-made structure of wood or some other once-living material, the objects can be dated quite accurately. Carbon14 has a half-life of 5,730 years, so a fossil that old should contain just half the C14 of a living animal. This dating method depends on the assumption that the proportion of C14 to C12 has remained constant in the atmosphere within the time span under study.

Answer 3

Molecules that are unstable decay until they find a state that is stable. All unstable isotopes, like Carbon 14 (used for C dating), have a half life. A half life is the time it takes for half of the molecules of the substance to decay to another molecule. C14 decays to N14.
Carbon 14 has a half life of about 5730 years, so if half of the Carbon 14 in a substance is there and the other half is Nitrogen 14, you know that ~5730 years have elapsed. If 25% of the C14 is there and the other 75% is N14, you can see that 2 half lives have elapsed, and the substance is ~11460 years old.

Also, don't trust "not gh3y". His religion is pretending that science doesn't exist. Read the Salem Hypothesis
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_hypothesis ).

Answer 4

Carbon ( Atomic sort 6 ) has 3 isotopes, with molecular weights 12, 13 and 14 respectively. Carbon relationship is predicated on the thought in the time of its existence, each and every residing element accumulates particular quantities of the radioactive C14 isotope, and submit fossilization, those C14 atoms progressively degenerate. Carbon relationship includes detecting the quantity of radioactive carbon ultimate, and then evaluating it with a typical chart, simply by fact the a million/2 existence of carbon 14 is ordinary. The age of the fossil subsequently won is barely an approximate estimate.

Answer 5

We use Carbon 14 in carbon dating. It is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope of Carbon. The half life of Carbon 14 (the time in which it take for 50% of it to decay to Nitrogen 14) is about 5370 years plus or minus 40 years. If we found a fossil that had 50 % C14 and 50% Nitrogen 14 we could say that that fossil is about 5370 years old.

Answer 6

As long as an organism is living it takes in carbon. Plants taking in CO2 for photosynthesis, animals taking in food. There is a known ratio of C-12 to C14. The C-14 being radioactive breaks down. When the organism dies, it stops taking in carbon , so the ratio changes as the c-14 breaks down. So carbon dating actually tells us when an organism dies, such as finding bones or a campfire.

Answer 7

What the Wikipedia article won't tell you is that a HUGE assumption must be made regarding the value of N0 ("N-sub-zero," or "N-naught"). The assumption is that once-living organisms must have had the EXACT SAME proportion of Carbon-14 in their bodies (thousands of years ago) as we have today in our bodies. This is folly.

They try to address it in the "Calibration" sections of the article; however, the other "independent" dating methods used to "calibrate" carbon dating are themselves fraught with assumption and inherent error.

But, don't expect any self-respecting evolutionist to highlight this one (of innumerable) flaws in their religion of Darwinism.

Answer 8

The C-14 content of present and test species are compared.