Question

Write down an application of Radiocarbon.

Answer 1

Hint: Radiocarbon dating is also known as carbon dating, carbon-14 dating. It was discovered by Willard Libby. It works by comparing the three different isotopes of carbon.

Complete answer:
->Firstly, let us know about radiocarbon dating. It is also referred to as carbon-14 dating as carbon-14 isotope is being used which is unstable and it has a half-life of 5730 years.
-> It is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, i.e. a radioactive isotope of carbon. Here, the ratio of Carbon-14 and Carbon-12 in the fresh and dead sample is used for the determination of age.
->As we know, when the animal, or plant dies, it stops exchanging carbon with the environment, then the amount of C-14 begins to decrease as the C-14 undergoes the radioactive decay.
->Talking about the application of radiocarbon, the radioactive elements are common in rocks with volcanic origins, it is used for the estimation of the age of fossils.
->It is also used for the age estimation of archaeological specimens and sites.
->By the use of radiocarbon, the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 is adapted in the fresh sample, and dead sample too.
->We can conclude that the main application of radiocarbon is in the field of radiocarbon dating.

Additional information:
->Radiocarbon (C-14) is being created in the atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with the atmospheric nitrogen. The resulting C-14 combines with the atmospheric oxygen to form radioactive carbon-dioxide, which is further transferred into plants by the process of photosynthesis.
->Accelerator Mass spectrometer is an instrument which counts the ratio of carbon-14 and carbon-12 directly and is being used now-a-days.

Note:: It should be noted that the entire application of this radiocarbon dating is due to the decay of carbon-14 isotope. This activity starts when carbon is not exchanged with the environment by the organism. It also follows first-order kinetics.