Carbon dating is based upon the decay of 14C, a radioactive isotope of carbon with a relatively long half-life (5700 years). While 12C is the most abundant carbon isotope, there is a close to constant ratio of 12C to 14C in the environment, and hence in the molecules, cells, and tissues of living organisms.

Is radioactive decay the same as carbon dating?

Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The development of radiocarbon dating has had a profound impact on archaeology.

What type of decay is carbon dating?

beta decay C decays by a process called beta decay. During this process, an atom of 14C decays into an atom of 14N, during which one of the neutrons in the carbon atom becomes a proton. This increases the number of protons in the atom by one, creating a nitrogen atom rather than a carbon atom.

Is carbon used in radioactive dating?

Radiocarbon dating uses carbon isotopes. Radiocarbon dating relies on the carbon isotopes carbon-14 and carbon-12. Scientists are looking for the ratio of those two isotopes in a sample.

Is radioactive decay continuous?

Radioactive decay happens when a radioactive substance emits a particle. Its impossible to predict exactly when a given atom of a substance will emit a particular particle, but the decay rate itself over a long period of time is constant.