Final answer:
Radiocarbon dating determines the absolute age of organic materials by measuring the decay of carbon-14. It's accurate for samples between 300 and 50,000 years old and is a crucial tool in archaeology.
Step-by-step explanation:
Radiocarbon dating is a widely utilized technique that allows scientists to determine the absolute age of an organic object. It's based on measuring the amount of carbon-14 (C-14) remaining in the organic material. C-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon that is continuously formed in the atmosphere through the interaction of cosmic rays and atmospheric nitrogen.
Once a living organism such as a plant or animal dies, it no longer absorbs C-14, and the isotope begins to decay. With a half-life of 5,730 years, the remaining C-14 in a specimen decreases over time. By measuring the current amount of C-14 in the sample with a mass accelerator spectrometer, scientists can estimate the time since the organism's death. This method is used for dating artifacts and organic remains between 300 and 50,000 years old, leveraging the chronometric dating methods.
Ensuring accuracy in radiocarbon dating requires prompt sealing of collected objects in nonporous containers to prevent contamination. It's imperative for objects to be free from atmospheric organic substances that could skew the testing results. This absolute dating technique is invaluable for archaeologists and researchers looking to establish the era of their finds without reference to other artifacts.