Radiocarbon

Radiocarbon

Radiocarbon, or ¹⁴C, is the unstable, radioactive isotope of carbon having atomic number 6 and atomic mass 14. It is continuously produced in Earth's upper atmosphere by cosmic ray bombardment. In space, ¹⁴C is produced when cosmic rays interact with oxygen in silicate minerals in rocks. The half-life of ¹⁴C is 5730 years, which makes this radioactive isotope suitable for dating rocks and archaeological items as old as about 75,000 years.

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Industry/Domain: Astronomy
Category: Planetary science
Company: PSRD
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Related terms

radiocarbon

Astronomy; Planetary science

Radiocarbon, or 14 C, is the unstable, radioactive isotope of carbon having atomic number 6 and atomic mass 14. It is continuously produced in Earth's upper atmosphere by cosmic ...

radiocarbon

Mining; General mining; Mineral mining

Radioactive carbon, esp. carbon-14, but also carbon-10 and carbon-11.

radiocarbon dating

Natural environment; Coral reefs

A dating method used to determine the age of samples containing carbon. The method measures the disintegration of the 14C atom. 14C is produced in the atmosphere by cosmic ray ...

radiocarbon time

Natural environment; Coral reefs

Regular known rates of radiocarbon decay that are used to determine the exact ages of carbon-based life.

radiocarbon age

Natural environment; Coral reefs

The age of plant or animal remains, determined by measuring the remaining activity of the 14C atoms in the sample: A=A0 e-t where A is the measured activity, A0 is the initial ...

radiocarbon dating

Anthropology; Cultural anthropology

An absolute dating method based on the radioactive decay of carbon-14 contained in organic materials.

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