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Industry : Radiocarbon Dating
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Archeologists determine dates of samples, that were once alive (e.g. in bone, charcoal, leather) by a technique called "radiocarbon dating", so called because this method of scientific dating relies on the carbon-14 isotope. Carbon-14 is a naturally occurring, long-lived radioisotope that is present in all living things. All living things contain carbon, a proportion of which is radioactive C-14. As living organisms take up natural radiocarbon along with other carbon atoms, the ratio between the two forms remains constant. However, when they die, the radiocarbon decays and is not replaced. Since it decays at a known constant rate, the decreasing concentration of C-14 can be measured and the date when the material died estimated.
Two classic applications of C-14 dating are the determination of the age of the Dead Sea Scrolls as about 2000 years, and the proof that the Shroud of Turin was made in the 14th Century.
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