C14 isotope

From Health Encyclopedia

Use

carbon, radionuclide

Facts (generated by robot; please edit if you find it inaccurate)

• The two extra neutrons in C14 are what makes the C14 isotope is unstable.
• The unstable nucleus of the C14 isotope is subject to radioactive decay, and in 5730 years, of a C14 sample will decay away.
• Of major recent interest is the development of the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry method of direct C14 isotope counting.
• googling "C14 isotope" shows that it's an isotope of carbon.
• It is an extraordinary technology that with uncanny precision can count the approximately one in a trillion C14 isotopes that exist compared to the more common carbon 12 and carbon 13 isotopes; isotopes that exist in all living material and material that once was living.
• Also the C14 isotope of carbon has almost identical chemical and electrical charateristics to it's more prevalent C12 nieghbors.

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