uhlík14

Uhlík14, also known as carbon-14 or 14C, is a radioactive isotope of carbon. It has a nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons, making its atomic mass 14. Unlike the stable isotopes carbon-12 and carbon-13, carbon-14 is unstable and undergoes radioactive decay. This decay process transforms carbon-14 into nitrogen-14 with the emission of a beta particle. The half-life of carbon-14 is approximately 5,730 years.

Carbon-14 is naturally produced in the Earth's upper atmosphere when cosmic rays interact with nitrogen atoms. This process creates a small but constant amount of carbon-14. Living organisms, including plants and animals, absorb carbon from the atmosphere, incorporating both stable and radioactive carbon isotopes into their tissues. This maintains a consistent ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in living things, reflecting the atmospheric ratio.

Once an organism dies, it no longer absorbs carbon from the environment. The carbon-14 within its remains begins to decay at a predictable rate, while the amount of carbon-12 remains constant. This differential decay is the principle behind radiocarbon dating, a method used to determine the age of organic materials. By measuring the remaining proportion of carbon-14 in a sample and comparing it to the initial atmospheric concentration, scientists can estimate the time elapsed since the organism's death. This technique is crucial in archaeology, paleontology, and geology for dating artifacts, fossils, and geological events.