![]() This rate of decay, thankfully, is constant, and can be easily measured in terms of ‘half-life’. Specifically, each nucleus will lose an electron, a process which is referred to as decay. The C-12 is a very stable element and will not change form after being absorbed however, C-14 is highly unstable and in fact will immediately begin changing after absorption. ![]() It is imperative to remember that the material must have been alive at one point to absorb the carbon, meaning that carbon dating of rocks or other inorganic objects is nothing more than inaccurate guesswork.Īll living things absorb both types of carbon but once it dies, it will stop absorbing. Specifically, there are two types of carbon found in organic materials: carbon 12 (C-12) and carbon 14 (C-14). What is Carbon Dating?Īt its most basic level, carbon dating is the method of determining the age of organic material by measuring the levels of carbon found in it. However, a little more knowledge about the exact ins and outs of carbon dating reveals that perhaps it is not quite as fool-proof a process as we may have been led to believe. Without understanding the mechanics of it, we put our blind faith in the words of scientists, who assure us that carbon dating is a reliable method of determining the ages of almost everything around us. ![]() ![]() At least to the uninitiated, carbon dating is generally assumed to be a sure-fire way to predict the age of any organism that once lived on our planet. ![]()
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