Question

Write short notes.

Radio carbon

Answer 1

• Radiocarbon dating is a scientific method used to determine the age of ancient organic fossils, ruins, and artifacts by measuring the radioactivity of carbon-14.
• Living organisms continuously absorb radioactive carbon-14 ($\text{C}^{14}$) alongside stable carbon-12 from the environment; once an organism dies, this absorption stops, and $\text{C}^{14}$ begins to decay at a constant rate.
• By measuring the remaining ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in a sample, scientists can accurately calculate the time elapsed since the organism’s death.
• This vital dating technique was developed by the American physical chemist Willard Libby.