In 1946, Willard Libby proposed an innovative method for dating organic materials by measuring their content of carbon-14, a newly discovered radioactive isotope of carbon. Known as radiocarbon dating, this method provides objective age estimates for carbon-based objects that originated from living organisms.

Who invented discovered radiocarbon dating and in what year?

Professor Willard Libby, a chemist at the University of Chicago, first proposed the idea of radiocarbon dating in 1946. Three years later, Libby proved his hypothesis correct when he accurately dated a series of objects with already-known ages.

Who got the Nobel Prize for carbon 14 dating?

Willard Libby Willard LibbyAlma materUniversity of California, BerkeleyKnown forRadiocarbon datingAwardsElliott Cresson Medal (1957) Willard Gibbs Award (1958) Joseph Priestley Award (1959) Albert Einstein Award (1959) Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1960) Arthur L. Day Medal (1961)Scientific career10 more rows

How was radiocarbon dating invented?

In 1946, Willard Libby proposed an innovative method for dating organic materials by measuring their content of carbon-14, a newly discovered radioactive isotope of carbon. Known as radiocarbon dating, this method provides objective age estimates for carbon-based objects that originated from living organisms.