RADIOACTIVE CARBON DATING

All organisms contain a mixture of ordinary carbon, C-12 (this, along with C-13, does not decay) and radioactive carbon, C-14. Ninety-nine point nine nine nine, nine nine nine, nine nine nine, nine nine nine percent (99.999,999,999,999%) of carbon in the body of an organism is C-12; only less than a pittance are C-13 and C-14. However, all animals, plants and germs, whilst they are alive have a nearly constant amount of radioactive carbon because the metabolic process of the biosphere cycles the C-14 causing it to enter and leave the bodies of organisms at almost a constant rate.

Radioactive carbon, C-14, is always decaying. Its half-life is
5000 years (actually, it is closer to 5730, give or take a few years). C-14 is often used to figure out how long ago since an animal died.

Let's say the amount of C-14 in a living sample is 4000lbs, then the half-life principle says after 5000 years only a half remains; 2000lbs. (Please note three things about the above weights: For one thing, They are EXAGGERATED. For another, these lbs are WILDLY EXAGGERATED; and , thirdly, these numbers are VERY WILDLY EXAGGERATED). Let me also point out that, for every sample containing one trillion carbon atoms, only ONE will be a C-14 atom. The rest, nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine (999,999,999,999) are almost all C-12 atoms with two or three C-13 atoms (this is NOT AN EXAGGERATION).



This means that every living organism almost always have roughly the same amount of radioactive carbon in their bodies.

When an organism dies it stops taking in new C-14 and starts to lose what it has at almost a constant rate of one half every 5000 years. Each radioactive element has a very specific decay rate called the "half-life". For example, if the half-life of an element is 10 years then if you originally had 100lbs of it, then after ten years had passed you would find only one half, 50lbs, remained; half of it had decayed over the ten years. After another ten years only 25lbs remain; after another ten years only twelve and half pounds remain, after another ten years. . . well, you get my drift.

So, you find the dead body of one of your ancestors' pet, "Unicorn", and the amount of radioactive carbon it contains is "250lb". Now, let us compare the C-14 content of our dead animal with the C-14 content of a living animal, an elephant say. An elephant as well as all other living animals and plants have the same C-14 content. Your pet amoeba, Daisy, has the same amount of C-14 as your most cherished hibiscus plant, Gretchen Hibiscus, "4000lbs". You get an elephant containing "4000lbs" of radioactive carbon and compare it with Unicorn's, which is 250lbs. When Unicorn was alive his C-14 content was "4000lb". How many 5000-year half-life passed before the C-14 in the dead body decayed to 250lb?

living organisms, for example all elephants alive today, have a C-14 content of "4000lb":
1st 5000-years [half of 4000lb is left]= 2000lb
2nd 5000-years [half of 2000lb]= 1000lb
3rd 5000-years = 500lb
4th 5000-years = 250lb. . . .

So you get 4 half-life, each of 5000-years. The total number of years since the animal died is 4 * 5000years = 20,000years.


Your long lost inherited pet, Unicorn, died 20,000 years ago.

If you trip over your favorite long dead cousin, Manny D. Neanderthal, on the lawn and you measured his C-14 to be "125lb", then Manny died 20,000 + 5000 = 25,000years ago. However, if you found Jimmy Hoffa buried in your backyard you would have a very very difficult time carbon dating when he died (Cheat:35years ago). You are going to have to be as patient as a saint and wait around for about another four thousand nine hundred and fifty years until half the C-14 in his dead body decays (assuming he is dead). You might as well re-inter Jimmy and leave him be.; However, if Jimmy Hoffa is alive and well somewhere (not!), then his C-14 content is the same as yours and mine, and Tiny Tim's (when he was alive).

I kid you about Jimmy (and I miss Tiny Tim). The point is that only very old samples (more than a 1000years old) can be dated accurately.

The Young Earth Creationist will insist that the Earth is only six thousand years old. However this does not make much sense, to sensible people. With C-14 dating, scientists have been able to age fossilized animals and plants back to more than sixty thousand years. I say to this creationist, SHOW ME THE MONEY: Disprove that the half-life of radioactive carbon is much less than 5730 years.

The radioactive decay rate, that is, the half-life of radioactive elements, is a physical property of those elements. Nothing in the universe may influence the half-life of a given radioactive element.

What is five plus two equal to?

If you didn't know, it is equal to seven.

Is 5+2=7 in Newark, New Jersey? (Yes.)

Is 5+2=7 on the Moon? (say yes)

How about at the center of the earth? (put answer here)

Come rain or shine, earthquakes and hurricanes, supernovas and black holes, five plus two is equal to seven.


Is the half-life of C-14 found in the Amazon Jungle different than in the Fiji Islands, different on top of Mount Everest, different at the bottom of the oceans or different than it is deep inside the Sun?

It does not matter where you find C-14 its radioactive decay rate measured in half-life is close to 5730 years.