The carbon-bearing materials formed in equilibrium with atmospheric carbon acquire, during their formation, small amounts of the cosmic-ray-produced 14C isotope. When the exchange with the atmospheric carbon comes to an end, the radio-active decay of the 14C provides a method for determining the time elapsed since the cessation of the exchange. The method, discovered in 1947 by W.F.Libby and his coworkers, has been applied successfully for age determinations up to 75,000 years. For this time interval it remains the most accurate dating tool available.
Principles Involved in 14C Dating
When entering the atmosphere, primary cosmic radiation produces neutrons, a certain number of which interact with atmospheric nitrogen. The capture of the neutrons by nitrogen results in the production of 14C and nonradioactive hydrogen according to the equation 14N + n → 14C + H. The 14C formed in this way soon combines with atmospheric oxygen and forms carbon dioxide. Since cosmic-ray-produced neutrons...
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Stuiver, M., Ash, D.W. (1987). Carbon-14 dating . In: Climatology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30749-4_33
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