Estimate the age of organic remains based on the decay of the Carbon-14 isotope.
Radiometric Data
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Calculation Results
Enter the percentage of Carbon-14 remaining to estimate the age
About this calculator
Overview
Radiocarbon dating (or carbon-14 dating) is a scientific method used to determine the age of organic materials by measuring the decay of the radioactive isotope carbon-14. Developed by Willard Libby in 1949, this technique revolutionized archaeology and has become fundamental to dating artifacts, fossils, and geological samples. The method relies on the fact that living organisms continuously exchange carbon with their environment, maintaining a constant ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 until death, after which the carbon-14 decays exponentially.
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Pro Tips
Carbon dating only works on materials that were once part of a living organism.
As soon as an organism dies, it stops taking in carbon, and the C-14 starts to decay.
Large-scale testing in the 20th century (nuclear testing) has altered the atmospheric C-14 ratio.
The method becomes increasingly unreliable beyond 50,000 years due to extremely low C-14 levels.
Calibration curves are used to account for variations in atmospheric C-14 over time.
Contamination from modern carbon can make samples appear younger than they actually are.
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Fun Facts
"The half-life of Carbon-14 is approximately 5,730 ± 40 years, meaning half the carbon-14 atoms decay every 5,730 years."
"Carbon-14 is constantly created in Earth's upper atmosphere when cosmic rays strike nitrogen atoms, producing about 2.4 × 10¹⁰ atoms per square meter per second."
"This method is generally accurate for objects up to about 50,000-60,000 years old, though newer AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) techniques can extend this to ~100,000 years."
"Carbon dating helped prove that humans and woolly mammoths coexisted, dating mammoth remains to as recent as 3,700 years ago."
"The technique won Willard Libby the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960 for his pioneering work."
"Nuclear testing in the 1950s-1960s doubled atmospheric carbon-14 levels, creating a 'bomb spike' that helps date recent materials."
"Carbon dating can be used on almost any organic material: wood, bone, leather, parchment, pollen, hair, and even feces."
"The method requires calibration because atmospheric carbon-14 levels have varied over time due to changes in solar activity and Earth's magnetic field."
"The Shroud of Turin was famously carbon-dated in 1988, with results suggesting a medieval origin (1260–1390 AD)."
"Dead Sea Scrolls were confirmed as authentic through radiocarbon dating, placing them between 150 BC and 70 AD."
"Otzi the Iceman, found in the Alps, was dated to approximately 3,300 BC using this technique."
Formula: t = [ln(N₀/Nt) / ln(2)] × t½
Carbon-14 Decay Over Time
Exponential decay of Carbon-14 over 50,000 years
Half-life: 5,730 years | Reliable dating range: up to ~50,000 years
