Science · 6 pages · 12 min
Why carbon dating is for things that once lived
The clock starts when a living thing stops exchanging carbon with the air.
When the purchase is complete, return to the original window. It will refresh.
From the opening
Carbon dating works on things that once lived because living tissue keeps exchanging carbon with its surroundings, and the air carries a trace of radioactive carbon-14. At death that exchange stops, and the carbon-14 already inside decays without being replaced. The opening covers exchange with the air, then decay, why the production rate is calibrated, and the practical reach of the clock.
The rest of the brief — the later sections and the reading notes — opens after Stripe confirms payment.
Inside
- Exchange with the air, then decay
- Why the production rate is calibrated
- The practical reach of the clock
- Why coal and lava are the wrong targets
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Atmospheric carbon-14 and the decay clock after death
- Tree-ring calibration and the marine reservoir effect