radiocarbondated

Radiocarbon dating, also known as carbon-14 dating, is a scientific method used to determine the age of organic materials. The technique relies on the decay of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 (¹⁴C), which is naturally present in the atmosphere and absorbed by living organisms during their lifetime. When an organism dies, it stops absorbing carbon-14, and the existing isotope begins to decay at a predictable rate, allowing scientists to estimate the time since death by measuring the remaining carbon-14.

Carbon-14 is produced in the upper atmosphere through the interaction of cosmic rays with nitrogen-14. It then combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, which is incorporated into plants via photosynthesis and into animals through consumption. The ratio of carbon-14 to the more stable carbon-12 isotope remains relatively constant in living organisms, reflecting atmospheric levels. Once an organism dies, this ratio starts to decline as carbon-14 decays into nitrogen-14 with a half-life of approximately 5,730 years.

The method was developed by Willard Libby in the late 1940s and has since become a cornerstone of archaeology and geology. Radiocarbon dating is most effective for dating materials up to about 50,000 years old, as the isotope becomes too scarce to measure accurately beyond this range. The technique requires careful calibration against known reference materials and accounts for variations in atmospheric carbon levels over time, such as those caused by nuclear testing or natural climatic changes.

Limitations of radiocarbon dating include its inability to date inorganic materials like rocks or metals and potential contamination of samples, which can skew results. Modern advancements, such as accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), have improved precision and reduced the sample size needed for analysis. Despite its constraints, radiocarbon dating remains one of the most reliable methods for establishing the age of ancient artifacts and fossils.