carbondated

Carbondated is a term that refers to the process of determining the age of organic materials using radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dating, also known as carbon-14 dating, is a scientific method used to determine the age of an artifact or object by measuring the amount of carbon-14 remaining in it. Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon that is naturally present in the atmosphere. Living organisms absorb carbon-14 from the environment. When an organism dies, it stops absorbing carbon-14, and the carbon-14 within its body begins to decay at a known rate. By measuring the ratio of carbon-14 to other carbon isotopes (carbon-12 and carbon-13) in a sample, scientists can calculate how long ago the organism died. This method is effective for dating materials that are between 50,000 and 60,000 years old. It is commonly used in archaeology, paleontology, and geology to date fossils, ancient artifacts, and geological samples. The accuracy of carbondated results can be affected by factors such as contamination of the sample or variations in atmospheric carbon-14 levels over time. Calibration curves are used to account for these variations and provide more precise age estimates.