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Carbon-14 undergoes beta decay: . 14 6 C → 14 7 N + e − + ν e + 0.156.5 MeV. By emitting an electron and an electron antineutrino, one of the neutrons in carbon-14 decays to a proton and the carbon-14 (half-life of 5700 ± 30 years [1]) decays into the stable (non-radioactive) isotope nitrogen-14.
The two types of beta decay are known as beta minus and beta plus.In beta minus (β −) decay, a neutron is converted to a proton, and the process creates an electron and an electron antineutrino; while in beta plus (β +) decay, a proton is converted to a neutron and the process creates a positron and an electron neutrino. β + decay is also known as positron emission.
The equation for the radioactive decay of 14 C is: [17] 14 6 C → 14 7 N + e − + ν e. By emitting a beta particle (an electron, e −) and an electron antineutrino (ν e), one of the neutrons in the 14 C nucleus changes to a proton and the 14 C nucleus reverts to the stable (non-radioactive) isotope 14 N. [18]
Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5700(30) years [27] and a decay rate of 14 disintegrations per minute (dpm) per gram of natural carbon. If an artifact is found to have radioactivity of 4 dpm per gram of its present C, we can find the approximate age of the object using the above equation:
Most fermions decay by a weak interaction over time. Such decay makes radiocarbon dating possible, as carbon-14 decays through the weak interaction to nitrogen-14. It can also create radioluminescence, commonly used in tritium luminescence, and in the related field of betavoltaics [4] (but not similar to radium luminescence).
A common example of an unstable nuclide is carbon-14 that decays by beta decay into nitrogen-14 with a half-life of about 5,730 years: 14 6 C → 14 7 N + e − + ν e. In this form of decay, the original element becomes a new chemical element in a process known as nuclear transmutation and a beta particle and an electron antineutrino are emitted.
Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon, with a half-life of 5,730 years [30] [31] (which is very short compared with the above isotopes), and decays into nitrogen. [32] In other radiometric dating methods, the heavy parent isotopes were produced by nucleosynthesis in supernovas, meaning that any parent isotope with a short half-life ...
Nitrogen-14 is the source of naturally-occurring, radioactive, carbon-14. Some kinds of cosmic radiation cause a nuclear reaction with nitrogen-14 in the upper atmosphere of the Earth, creating carbon-14, which decays back to nitrogen-14 with a half-life of 5700(30) years .