⚙️ how
How does carbon-14 dating work?
ChemistryDating Methods
Quick Answer
Carbon-14 dating measures how much radioactive carbon remains in once-living material. Because carbon-14 has a half-life of about 5,730 years, it can date objects up to roughly 50,000 years old.
The Full Story
Living plants and animals continuously exchange carbon with the environment, so they contain a predictable amount of carbon-14 while alive. After death, intake stops and the radioactive carbon begins to decay. Scientists measure the remaining carbon-14 compared with stable carbon isotopes to estimate time since death. The method was developed in the late 1940s by Willard Libby, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960.
Key Facts
1.Carbon-14 half-life is about 5,730 years
2.Willard Libby developed the method
3.It is useful for samples up to about 50,000 years old
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"The radioactive clock inside ancient bones and wood"