Final answer:
Radiocarbon dating, or carbon-14 dating, is a method for determining the age of carbon-bearing materials by measuring the amount of the carbon-14 isotope remaining after an organism's death.
Step-by-step explanation:
Radiocarbon dating, also known as carbon-14 dating, is a method used to determine the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years old. It works by measuring the amount of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon with a half-life of 5,730 years, remaining in a sample. When living organisms are alive, they continually replenish their carbon-14 levels. However, once they die, the intake of carbon-14 stops, and the isotope starts to decay. By comparing the remaining carbon-14 in a sample to the expected amount in a living organism, scientists can estimate the time since the organism's death. This technique has revolutionized fields like archaeology and earned a Nobel Prize for its developer, Willard Libby.
Carbon-14 is produced in the atmosphere through interactions between cosmic rays and nitrogen. It is then absorbed by living organisms during respiration. When plants or animals
die, the carbon exchange with the environment ceases and the carbon-14 begins its decay process. Measuring the current amount of carbon-14 in a sample, compared to living tissue, helps establish a date for when the organism ceased to exchange carbon with the environment.
The accuracy of carbon-14 dating is most effective for samples no more than 50,000 to 60,000 years old, with more recent samples yielding more precise dates. Various methods such as historical knowledge or tree-ring counting can cross-reference and confirm the accuracy of carbon-14 dating results, ensuring the technique is calibrated and reliable.