What is Carbon-14 Dating – Radiocarbon Dating – Definition

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Carbon-14 dating, known also as radiocarbon dating, is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radionuclide carbon-14. Periodic Table

Carbon-14 dating, known also as radiocarbon dating, is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radionuclide carbon-14. Radioactive carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years and undergoes β− decay, where the neutron is converted into a proton, an electron, and an electron antineutrino:

beta decay - carbon-14 dating
Beta decay of C-14 nucleus.

In spite of this short half-life compared to the age of the earth, carbon-14 is a naturally occurring isotope. Its presence can be explained by the following simple observation. Our atmosphere contains many gases, including nitrogen-14. Besides, the atmosphere is constantly bombarded with high energy cosmic rays, consisting of protons, heavier nuclei, or gamma rays. These cosmic rays interact with nuclei in the atmosphere, and produce also high-energy neutrons. These neutrons produced in these collisions can be absorbed by nitrogen-14 to produce an isotope of carbon-14:

carbon-14 dating - formation

Carbon-14 can also be produced in the atmosphere by other neutron reactions, including in particular 13C(n,γ)14C and 17O(n,α)14C. As a result, carbon-14 is continuously formed in the upper atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with atmospheric nitrogen. On average just one out of every 1.3 x 1012 carbon atoms in the atmosphere is a radioactive carbon-14 atom.

The resulting carbon-14 combines with atmospheric oxygen to form radioactive carbon dioxide, which is incorporated into plants by photosynthesis. Consequently, all biological systems as  plants, animals and humans contain a certain level of radioactive carbon-14. As long as the biological system is alive the level is constant due to constant intake of all isotopes of carbon. When the biological system dies, it stops exchanging carbon with its environment, and from that point onwards the amount of carbon-14 it contains begins to decrease as the carbon-14 undergoes radioactive decay. On the other hand, the amount of stable carbon-12 remains unchanged. As a result, the relative concentration of these two isotopes in any organism changes after its death. The method enables datings to be made up to about 20,000 years ago with an accuracy of about ±100 years.

The technique of carbon dating was suggested initially by Willard Libby and his colleagues in 1949. In 1960, Willard Libby was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for this work.

References:

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See also:

Radiometric Dating

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