5 limitations of radiocarbon dating

Problems with Radiometric Dating. Limitations of Radiocarbon Dating. Dripping Stones. Was There Really an Ice Age?

Radiocarbon dating also referred to as carbon dating or carbon 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 method was developed in the late s at the University of Chicago by Willard Libby , who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in It is based on the fact that radiocarbon 14 C is constantly being created in the atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with atmospheric nitrogen. The resulting 14 C combines with atmospheric oxygen to form radioactive carbon dioxide , which is incorporated into plants by photosynthesis ; animals then acquire 14 C by eating the plants.

Radiocarbon dating—also known as carbon dating—is a technique used by archaeologists and historians to determine the age of organic material. It can theoretically be used to date anything that was alive any time during the last 60, years or so, including charcoal from ancient fires, wood used in construction or tools, cloth, bones, seeds, and leather. It cannot be applied to inorganic material such as stone tools or ceramic pottery. The technique is based on measuring the ratio of two isotopes of carbon.

Sponsored link. There are five main problems with this instrumental technique:. This means that the C to C ratio in a sample might be slightly higher or lower at the time that it died than the present value. Thus it was necessary to calibrate the technique.