radiokarbonkormeghatározás

Radiokarbonkor is a term that refers to the process of radioactive decay of carbon-14, a naturally occurring isotope of carbon. This decay is the fundamental principle behind radiocarbon dating, a method used to determine the age of organic materials. Carbon-14 is continuously produced in the Earth's atmosphere through the interaction of cosmic rays with nitrogen. Living organisms absorb carbon, including a small proportion of carbon-14, from their environment. Once an organism dies, it no longer exchanges carbon with its surroundings, and the carbon-14 within its remains begins to decay at a known, constant rate. This rate is characterized by the isotope's half-life, which is approximately 5,730 years. By measuring the remaining amount of carbon-14 in a sample and comparing it to the expected amount in a living organism, scientists can calculate how much time has passed since the organism's death. This technique is invaluable in fields such as archaeology, paleontology, and geology for establishing chronologies of past events and understanding the history of life on Earth. The accuracy of radiocarbon dating is dependent on the assumption of a relatively stable atmospheric concentration of carbon-14 over time, though calibration curves have been developed to account for past fluctuations.