Carbon-14 is continuously generated in the atmosphere by cosmic radiation. Captured by nitrogen nuclei (N-14), neutrons transform these nuclei into carbon-14 (B). The carbon-14 atoms combine with the oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide (C).

How do cosmic rays affect carbon dating?

Cosmic rays – high-energy particles from beyond the solar system – bombard Earths upper atmosphere continually, in the process creating the unstable carbon-14. Carbon-14 is considered a radioactive isotope of carbon. Because its unstable, carbon-14 will eventually decay back to carbon-12 isotopes.

How does radiation affect carbon dating?

Every 5,730 years, the radioactivity of carbon-14 decays by half. That half-life is critical to radiocarbon dating. Since carbon-12 doesnt decay, its a good benchmark against which to measure carbon-14s inevitable demise. The less radioactivity a carbon-14 isotope emits, the older it is.

How was carbon dating developed?

In 1946, Willard Libby proposed an innovative method for dating organic materials by measuring their content of carbon-14, a newly discovered radioactive isotope of carbon. Known as radiocarbon dating, this method provides objective age estimates for carbon-based objects that originated from living organisms.

What is half life use carbon as an example?

For example, the radioactive isotope potassium-40 decays to argon-40 with a half life of 1.3 billion years.