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Carbon-14, C-14, 14 C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons.Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues (1949) to date archaeological, geological and hydrogeological samples.
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 (6 C) has 14 known isotopes, from 8 C to 20 C as well as 22 C, of which 12 C and 13 C are stable. The longest-lived radioisotope is 14 C, with a half-life of 5.70(3) × 10 3 years. This is also the only carbon radioisotope found in nature, as trace quantities are formed cosmogenically by the reaction 14 N + n → 14 C + 1 H. The most ...
The calculation of radiocarbon dates determines the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon (also known as carbon-14), a radioactive isotope of carbon. Radiocarbon dating methods produce data based on the ratios of different carbon isotopes in a sample that must then be further manipulated in order to ...
A good example of the difference in energy of the various radionuclei is the detection window ranges used to detect them, which are generally proportional to the energy of the emission, but vary from machine to machine: in a Perkin elmer TriLux Beta scintillation counter , the hydrogen-3 energy range window is between channel 5–360; carbon-14 ...
English: Changes in the 14 C record, which are primarily (but not exclusively) caused by changes in solar activity. Note that "before present" is used in the context of radiocarbon dating, where the "present" has been fixed at 1950.
Carbon is most commonly used in its amorphous form. In this form, carbon is used for steelmaking, as carbon black, as a filling in tires, in respirators, and as activated charcoal. Carbon is also used in the form of graphite, for example as the lead in pencils. Diamond, another form of carbon, is commonly used in jewelry. [18]
When an organism dies, the exchange of 14 C with the environment ends and the incorporated 14 C decays. Given radioactive decay (14 C's half-life is about 5,730 years), the relative amount of 14 C left in the dead organism can be used to calculate how long ago it died. Bomb pulse dating should be considered a special form of carbon dating.