Radiocarbon dating can be used to determine the age of

To measure the amount of radiocarbon left in a artifact, scientists burn a small piece to convert it into carbon dioxide gas.Radiation counters are used to detect the electrons given off by decaying Carbon-14 as it turns into nitrogen.When these energetic neutrons collide with a nitrogen-14 (seven protons, seven neutrons) atom it turns into a carbon-14 atom (six protons, eight neutrons) and a hydrogen atom (one proton, zero neutrons).Since Nitrogen gas makes up about 78 percent of the Earth's air, by volume, a considerable amount of Carbon-14 is produced.

Maybe one in a trillion carbon atoms are carbon-14.Sites older than 26,000 years present greater issues for radiocarbon dating.For the period before 26,000 years, it is much harder to assign accurate dates because the distance between radiocarbon and solar years becomes increasingly difficult to calculate.seeds and pollen), eggshell, fish and insect remains, paper and parchment, wood, hair, bone and ice cores.Radiocarbon dating measures the rate of decay in the unstable, radioactive isotope ¹⁴C to determine the age of organic matter.