Carbon-14
hideCarbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon discovered on February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, though its existence had been suggested already in 1934 by Franz Kurie. Its nucleus contains 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method to date archaeological, geological, and hydrogeological samples.
There are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon on Earth: 99% of the carbon is carbon-12, 1% is carbon-13, and carbon-14 occurs in trace amounts, e.g. making up as much as 1 part per trillion (0.0000000001%) of the carbon in the atmosphere. The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730±40 years. It decays into nitrogen-14 through beta decay. The activity of the modern radiocarbon standard is about 14 disintegrations per minute (dpm) per gram carbon.
The atomic mass of carbon-14 is about 14.003241 amu. The different isotopes of carbon do not differ appreciably in their chemical properties. This is used in chemical research in a technique called carbon labeling: some carbon-12 atoms of a given compound are replaced with carbon-14 atoms (or some carbon-13 atoms) in order to trace them along chemical reactions involving the given compound.
For more information about Carbon-14, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with radiocarbon
Researcher: Faint writing seen on Shroud of Turin (Update)
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus. Experts say the historian may be reading ...
Italian group claims to debunk Shroud of Turin (Update)
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 05, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Scientists have reproduced the Shroud of Turin - revered as the cloth that covered Jesus in the tomb - and say the experiment proves the relic was man-made, a group of Italian debunkers claimed Monday.
London's earliest timber structure found during Belmarsh prison dig
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Aug 12, 2009 |
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London's oldest timber structure has been unearthed by archaeologists from Archaeology South-East (part of the Institute of Archaeology at UCL). It was found during the excavation of a prehistoric peat bog ...
Cut marks on bone suggest burial rituals of Early Britons
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Aug 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Research on human remains from Kent’s Cavern in Devon has led scientists to believe that humans from the Mesolithic period (after the Ice Age) may have engaged in complex ritualistic burial ...
When did humans return after last Ice Age?
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jul 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The Cheddar Gorge in Somerset was one of the first sites to be inhabited by humans when they returned to Britain near the end of the last Ice Age. According to new radio carbon dating by Oxford ...
Chinese pottery may be earliest discovered
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jun 02, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Bits of pottery discovered in a cave in southern China may be evidence of the earliest development of ceramics by ancient people.
Fire and water reveal new archaeological dating method
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 20, 2009 |
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Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new way of dating archaeological objects - using fire and water to unlock their 'internal clocks'.
Southern glaciers grow out of step with North
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 30, 2009 |
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The vast majority of the world’s glaciers are retreating as the planet gets warmer. But a few, including ones south of the equator, in South America and New Zealand, are inching forward.
Plants could override climate change effects on wildfires
Apr 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The increase in warmer and drier climates predicted to occur under climate change scenarios has led many scientists to also predict a global increase in the number of wildfires. But a new ...
Tropical forest seed banks: A blast from the past
Apr 01, 2009 |
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Seeds of some tree species in the Panamanian tropical forest can survive for more than 30 years before germinating. That is 10 times longer than most field botanists had believed.
Deep sea corals may be oldest living marine organism
Mar 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Deep-sea corals from about 400 meters off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands are much older than once believed and some may be the oldest living marine organisms known to man.
New technology for dating ancient rock paintings
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Mar 11, 2009 |
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A new dating method finally is allowing archaeologists to incorporate rock paintings — some of the most mysterious and personalized remnants of ancient cultures — into the tapestry of evidence used to study life in prehistoric ...
