Context: The technology allowed scholars a clearer and measurable view of the past, clarifying the history of human migration, the rise and fall of civilisations, and undulations of the earth’s climate

About:

• Radiocarbon dating, also known as carbon-14 dating, is a scientific method employed to precisely ascertain the age of organic materials, with its accuracy extending to around 60,000 years.
• Originating in the late 1940s at the University of Chicago under the guidance of Willard Libby, this technique relies on the decay of the carbon-14 isotope.
• Its applications have been diverse, encompassing historical studies, atmospheric science, and sparking a transformative period in archaeology known as the "radiocarbon revolution."
• Principle:
  • The method operates on the principle that living entities such as trees, plants, humans, and animals assimilate carbon-14 into their tissues. Upon death, the carbon-14 undergoes a gradual transformation into different atoms. By quantifying the remaining carbon-14 atoms, scientists can gauge the duration since the organism's demise, providing an estimate of its age.
• Working:

• The process begins with the interaction of cosmic rays, which are subatomic particles reaching Earth from various directions.
• When these cosmic rays reach the Earth's upper atmosphere, they lead to physical and chemical reactions resulting in the creation of the radioactive isotope carbon-14.
•   Living organisms absorb carbon-14 into their tissues as part of their metabolic processes.
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•  Once an organism dies, the absorption of carbon-14 ceases, initiating a slow and predictable transformation of carbon-14 into other atoms.
•  Scientists can estimate the time since an organism's death by measuring the remaining amount of carbon-14.
•   Radiocarbon dating is applicable to any object that was once alive, extending its use to various materials such as animal or human remains, plants, paper made from reeds, leather from animal hides, and even logs used in construction.
• In essence, radiocarbon dating relies on the cosmic ray-induced creation of carbon-14, its absorption by living organisms, and the predictable decay rate post-death, allowing scientist to determine the age of organic objects through careful measurement of remaing carbon-14