Radiocarbon Dating

How do we know the AGE of something?

For example, if we want to know how old someone is, we will check the birth certificate to determine the age.

But what about something like ancient Fossils? How do we know how old they are?

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What is Radiocarbon Dating?

Radiocarbon was predicted first before its discovery by an American Scientist Willard Libby in the mid-1940s in the University of Chicago when he was a Professor of Chemistry. For this discovery, Libby was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1960.
The term Radiocarbon Dating can be broken down as follows: Radio means 'radioactive', Carbon means the elements of organic carbon contained in the fossil and  Dating means to 'date' the time of a fossil. 

Every living thing has carbon inside them. It is a fundamental element of life. The sun will produce a mixture of chemical components Nitrogen-14 and neutrons that are then called CARBON-14 which has 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Plants have carbon dioxide which is then transmitted to animals and humans through the food chain. But, when organisms die, they will stop taking in Carbon-14. And thus, archaeologists are able to determine the age of a fossil base on their level of 'Carbon-14' even long after their death. Radiocarbon Dating works for fossils up to 60,000 years old.

Differences between Carbon-12 and Carbon-14

Here is how Radiocarbon Dating process is done:

In conclusion, the purpose of Radiocarbon Dating is to determine the age of a fossil in Archaeology. This is to help Archaeologists work up a timeline and determine from which era it is from. Through this method, they can also derive theories based on fossil studied.

Sources:

1) Bowman, S. (1990). Radiocarbon dating (Vol. 1). Univ of California Press.

2) How Does Radiocarbon Dating Work? - Instant Egghead #28 by Scientific American

 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phZeE7Att_s)