How does carbon dating work?

Carbon dating measures the amount of carbon-14 in a sample to determine its age.

Carbon dating, also known as radiocarbon dating, is a method used to determine the age of organic materials by measuring the amount of carbon-14 present in the sample. Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon that is formed naturally in the atmosphere and is absorbed by plants during photosynthesis. When an organism dies, it stops absorbing carbon-14 and the amount present in its body begins to decay at a known rate.

To perform carbon dating, a small sample of the material being dated is taken and treated with chemicals to remove any contaminants. The remaining carbon is then converted into carbon dioxide gas and measured using a mass spectrometer. The amount of carbon-14 present in the sample is compared to the amount of carbon-14 expected to be present in a living organism of the same age, and the difference is used to calculate the age of the sample.

Carbon dating is most effective for materials that are less than 50,000 years old, as the amount of carbon-14 present in older materials is too small to accurately measure. It is also important to note that carbon dating can only be used on organic materials, as inorganic materials do not contain carbon-14. Despite these limitations, carbon dating has been an important tool in determining the age of archaeological and geological materials, and has helped to shape our understanding of the history of the Earth and its inhabitants.