How Does Radiocarbon Dating Work? - Instant Egghead #28
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- Опубликовано: 10 июл 2024
- How do scientists determine the age of fossils that have been under the surface of the earth for thousands of years? Scientific American Editor Michael Moyer explains the process of radiocarbon dating.
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Thank you!! My son, right as I tuck him in: "Dada, how do scientists know how old something is?" Me, cleverly and not showing my panic: "It's bedtime. Ask me first thing in the morning. I'll tell you all about it" as I run to the internet for answers! haha.
Haha you got kids
Elisha Rankine Haha ikr wow thats so crazy wow haha he got kids no way haha
@@Julie-ox1ez haha
Oml
thats a good dad
You've just explained this better than 3 of my Geology professors. Thank you.
🤣🤣😂😂oh myy
fr
me too😂😂😂😂
C-14 has a half of 5700 yrs
So how can a fossil be millions of yrs old if it contains c-14
There was no millions of yrs - it’s just a fairy tale to remove God - as an ex atheist I thought the same as you - science (real science) proves there has to be a creator
i have a carbon dating asignment and ihad no idea what i was doing. after i watched this i still have no idea what im doing
Let's assume that C12 and C14 have 'reliable' half lives. How do we calculate how old something is unless we know the original C12:C14 ratio in an organism? Also, how do we know that radiation has collided with N14 at a constant rate throughout history? Wouldn't creatures near the poles be less exposed to it than creatures at the equator?
But you didn't answer my questions. If you have a lump of carbon and you don't know its *original* ratio of C12 to C14, how can you date it? The best you can do is get its oldest possible date of creation by assuming it started out 100% C14.
I am not a creationist so please don't use the false dilemma of _"creationist or trust everything today's textbooks say"_.
Have these half-lives all been measured in the last few decades at room temperature? Would they have been different at the bottom of the sea, or when earth had a different atmosphere?
Tim Crinion
Carbon dating is getting it's last time it was alive, not created/born. How many years it lived before it died is the number you don't know. But you do know the closest century it was last alive, give or take 100 years, which you didn't know before carbon dating. In the videos they say on AVERAGE(not precise) C:14 has a half life of 5730.
In life, science and math every positive has a negative. My question is can carbon dating be used to determine if something is from the future. Could you carbon date something and the number be -5730?
Rondu01 But how do we know what the *original* ratio of C12 to C14 is?
Tim Crinion
You don't need C12 you just need C14 because it's unstable. When a living thing dies C14 also does. They carbon date C14.
Rondu01 But it's impossible to make the calculation unless you know the original C12:C14 ratio and the current C12:C14 ratio.
Simple and to the point. Thanks Michael!
This video is a great introduction to radiometric dating. It provides a great baseline understanding of carbon-14 dating in a simple, easy to understand manner. It explains how the carbon gets into organic material and how the ratios work in calculating the half-life of a sample. However, this is too short to provide any in depth explanation of how carbon-14 is formed and some of the flaws of carbon-14 dating. For example, the description states “How do scientists determine the age of fossils” while radiocarbon dating is helpful in some cases, most fossils are too old to be radiocarbon dated. Overall, this video is a quick and basic introduction to radiocarbon dating.
This helped my class a lot in what were learning! They send you the thanks of all thanks! Ill keep showing my class these types of videos because your awesome!
Tell them THIS: A measurable amount of carbon-14 cannot last for more 50,000 to 75,000 years MAX - in ANY substance - yet it's not only found in DINOSAUR BONES, but ALSO in OIL, NATURAL GAS, COAL, and EVEN DIAMONDS - WHICH ARE ALLEGED TO BE 1 TO 3 BILLION YEARS OLD! This one, single, solitary fact ALONE, disproves "billions of years!" Period!
@notwendy3943 - I am hoping that you did NOT tell anyone you know that is interested in science about @ForeverBleedinGreen 's "young Earth creationist" pseudoscientific theory. It is a religious concept that requires only faith in that specific religion. It is NOT scientific, which requires the scientific method. All the best and stay curious!
Perfect! This video was the most helpful video I found on Carbon Dating! I've been trying to understand how scientists date the Earth as oppose to fossils, this video explained things in such a way that I could apply the wisdom to understand dating the planet better, thank you!
I just wanted to know something brief about carbon dating and this short video clips helps me a great deal. Thanks!!!
3 half lives!!!!!!!! PRAISE LORD GABEN
LMAO!
@Shad Gragg that's not the joke
It takes a really long time for the 2nd half life to the 3rd half life. I've been waiting for quite a while.
@@chizpa305 No more waiting now..
Great short and informative piece, great for teacher use!
Thank you!!!!!! This is very helpful!
Only one word- Best Video ever on Carbon dating
Very informative and easy to understand explanation, thanks :)
loved the video it was short easy to comprehend and follow up on its accuracy, thank you all including my favorite platform RUclips!
Great classroom resource, thanks!
Great explanation. It had always confused me, now I can understand the history books better.
i finally understood this! thank you soooo much
The ONLY thing to "UNDERSTAND" is that radiometric dating is a SCAM!
It's really very helpful. Thank u.
Thanks mate that was really helpful.
thanks this really helps with my homework
Thank you for your reply. Does it mean that the ratio of C14 to C12 in the atmosphere remain constant unless disturbed by "any occasional spikes of C14 levels"? If so, any living organisms that breath in the air should have a constant C14:C12 ratio until they die when the C14 level start to decrease because no new C14 is taken in. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
amazing explanation, thank you.
you have explain it better than my teacher and 3 other books of Anthropology in 2minutes.. Thank You..
Finally a straight forward video on the subject!
Just a few questions:
How did scientists determine the half-life of C14 ("5730 years on average") and other elements?
Also, to measure the ratio of C12 to C14, don't you need to know where they both started to calculate? For example, if two different organisms lived and died around the same time, do they have the same ratio of C12 to C14 throughout their lives and at the very moment they die?
I don't know if this chart was accurate, but it showed that an organism starts with more C14 than C12, but earlier he said that most Carbon molecules are C12. Am I missing something?
Thanks!
JoeyJoey G Good questions.
"How did scientists determine the half-life of C14 ("5730 years on average") and other elements?" -- The even better question would be: How do we know the half-lives of elements with half-lives in the millions of years?
Of course you don't sit and wait until half of it is gone. In an exponential decay (one with a half-life), the amount of decays per second (or hour, or day... however long you have time to measure) is proportional to the amount of substance. The proportionality factor is related to the half-life. So you need a sample where you know how much C-14 is in it and then measure the amount of radiation that is emitted by it. Then some rather simple calculation gives you the half-life.
(-dN/dt = k*N -- N is the number of atoms, dN/dt is the number of atoms decaying per unit time and k is the proportionality constant, with t_{1/2} = ln(2)/k (t_{1/2} is the half-life, ln the natural logarithm))
Here is one of the papers quoted in the recommendation for 5730 years (note that the puplication is older and has a result of 5780 years): www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0020708X61901338#
"Also, to measure the ratio of C12 to C14, don't you need to know where they both started to calculate?" -- Not to measure the ratio, but to determine the age from the ratio. The coarsest approach is to use the present day fraction (or rather 1950s -- before a-bomb experiments changed it somewhat) as a starting point. But of course, e.g. the sun's activity has some influence on that, but by now the historical variations are known.
For other sources of error, see:
www.c14dating.com/corr.html
"For example, if two different organisms lived and died around the same time, do they have the same ratio of C12 to C14 throughout their lives and at the very moment they die?" -- depends on what those organisms are. If they are the same species, feed on the same stuff etc., then yes. But there are some species for which it doesn't work because they get substantial parts of their carbon not from the atmosphere (especially marine organisms, see the link above: reservoir effect).
"Am I missing something?" -- The y-axis was labeled: "Fraction of Elements present" -- but I agree, the C-12 line makes no sense. But it's difficult to plot them poth on the same graph (maybe with a log scale), because natural C-14 abundance is 1 part per trillion (so 10^-12). Which is still a large number, if your sample is on the order or 10^23 particles (two grams of carbon), it would be 10^11 particles or about 1400 decays per hour (unless I've made a mistake punching it into my calculator).
Harm10412
And a third question - are there any conditions that can affect, or alter, the deterioration rate?
bio2020
The decay rate can usually only slightly be affected (less than 1%) by environmental effects. And that's on the order of the margin of error to which the half-life of C-14 is known. A large effect is only known for fully ionized large atoms, but that wouldn't be the case in biological samples.
bio2020 There is nothing that has been shown to affect the half life of any substance. Such a phenomenon would be a gamechanger for energy from nuclear fission.
Valo56
See my comment above: there are actually some boundary cases (namely electron capture, especially in highly ionized atoms) where the half-life of a nucleus can be changed somewhat (usually on the order of up to one percent, but in some exceptional cases even more).
"For humans, you would ask to see their birth certificate." in what woRLD WOULD YOU NOT ASK THE PERSON, AND INSTEAD ASK TO SEE THEIR BIRTH CERTIFICATE LMAO
Because people can lie. Orignal birth certificates are made when you are born and are a proof that you can show. You cannot prove your age with words.
@@moritzkorsch9029 So every time you ask someone how old they are, you also ask them for an official copy of their birth certificate to make sure they aren't lying???
@@iambeepbop2452 Of course I wouldn't in a casual conversation. I cannot think of anyone needing concrete proof of your age casually. That being said, if you needed to prove it, for example if you apply for medical insurance, they would definitely want some proof beyond your word.
@@moritzkorsch9029 You can fake birth certificates although I do not know how easy it is to ascertain the legitimacy of a birth certificate.
@@JohnSmith-li5pj The step to actually forge a document like this is rather big, compared to lying about your age in a conversation (especially casually). A big portion of crime is enabled by opportunity, so if it is absolutely necessary to know the age of a person, an official document has to be shown, which is hard to forge. If fake IDs are easy to get by in your area, that just enables more people to have an opportunity to lie about it (e.g. getting alcohol below 21 in the US).
Thank u .Very
well explained 🙏
thank you... that helped a lot
going insane in quarantine
Hang in there bud.
yeah
Same stuck in the house all day
One thing I don't get about half life, say every 5700 years half of it decays, and it keeps going on that pattern, when does it decay completely?
theoretically never.
moeman1984 5700 years for 50% 11400 years for 75% 17100 years for 87.5% 22800 years for 93.75% 28500 years for 96.875% 34200 years for ~ 98.5 % and still counts it never decays completely but we assume it to be completed at 6 or 7 half life times
It will not decay when it reaches a stable state. For example uranium, when it will decay, the neutrons will be reduced to radon (one of the daughters of uranium) so it will stay there. More like from radioactive elements broken up to be simpler elements.
60000 yrs later
Why doesn't carbon decay linearly?
Very useful. Thank you
Thnx much... It helps me a lot.
Great questions below, and video, used it to explain this to my kids. For the questions, the ratio of C14 to C12 is relatively constant across geography and across time. For Geography this is due to the cosmic ray creation of C14 far up in our atmosphere, this is where light rays that are also relatively constant over the centuries create C14 with cosmic bombardment, similar to the norther lights phenomenon. Since it's so high in the atmosphere by the time it reaches ground level it's virtually homogeneous globally. Over time we know it's constant as we have carbon dated events from thousands of years ago, events who's dates we know from written tests, everything from Egyptian mummies to medieval artifacts, to trees that are still alive and over 4000 years old. We have proof that carbon dating is very effective. To go further back in time you can use other radioactive elements with much longer half lives, and unlike C14 turning into C12 + nitrogen gas, these other longer half life elements often break down into 2 other elements that are not gases such as nitrogen, as such with those you have further help determining the age as you have 2 remnants of the original radioactive isotope. These other longer range radioactive products come from the molten core of the earth, and they too are equally mixed in the molten core ,but with longer half lives you also get less precision and you'll usually see comments of plus or minus hundreds of thousands or millions of years, versus C14 that can date on a level of plus or minus a few decades. Lots of work and proof went into this marvelous insight into how to date something over thousands and millions of years.
Yeah, go tell some more lies to your kids. Why not? They get lied to every day anyway, right?
How do you know how much of Carbon 14 the animal originally had? How do you know the composition of the atmosphere in which the creature lived to base the answer on?
My understanding is that you don't need to know the original amount of C14, the ratio of C12 and C14 is the same in every living organism. It's only when the organism dies that the C14 begins to decay, but crucially the C12 doesn't. Therefore, from the moment it dies the ratio between the two begins to change. Since we know the half life of the isotope, we can therefore know how long it's been since the organism died.
@@futurez12 That is because living organisms take in and expel carbon dioxide. This will leave the ratio of C12/C14 equal to that of the atmosphere. (Until death when CO2 is not exchanged) However his question is, how are we certain that previous ratios were the same as present day.
@Pepe - We know they're the same as present day because we can look at things like carbon concentration in ice core dating, for example. There's also some ways of testing that sort of thing via rock samples taken from different sedimentary layers, but that's beyond my basic understanding
Thanks for this bruh.
Wow thanks for this info
Wow....you never mentioned climate change or social justice. That's pretty good!
Even though climate change is a serious issue.
How do you now the time on this? Over 5000 years for the carbon to half? How many other things can influence that, i wonder..?
Not many. If you studied Chemistry or even Molecular Biology you would know this.
Hanne Lindblad Environmental effects are known to effect half life but only in the 1% area. This is accounted for in the expected margin for error. Carbon dating gives a rough estimate on the age of the sample, but it's not expected to be precise down to the exact decade. Remember that the half life is only the *average speed* of decay.
Very informative and interesting. Thank you.
how do you know how much carbon 14 did it originally have?
why does dino bone contain detectable levels of C14
Dinosaur bones technically do contain detectable levels of Carbon-14 beta particle emissions, but you would never use Carbon-14 to date it because the half life is much to short. They would use something like Potassium 40 which has a half life of millions of years instead of just 5730 years. The problem is creationists and science hating people usually just leave that part out.
Kyle Possai how do you determine when to use carbon and when to use another element? Do they date only specific parts of bones or do they date multiple parts of different bones and then use an average?
Dilithium Crystals because they are less that 250000 yrs old. Why do diamonds have c14?
yea n who the fuck was around to measure the half life of potassium 40.
@@hurricane1nox That's not how it works dum dum
superb to the point explainantion!! thanks..
vey helpful..Thank you very much!😊
Careful with those "s" "j" "z" etc, I'm wearing headphones, almost killed my ears, and I'm at only 50% of max volume... Use a de-esser or even a mic foam cover
I'm the answer to everything
hahahah cool
Give the solution to the Rieman Hypothesis
you would die from the immense intensity of the answer, that's why he's dead
***** Risk I'm willing to take
Way simpler then the rest of the videos, thanks
such an easy explanation thanks
Do the 1945 bombings affect dating process?
No arrogant ignorance does though!
And carbon dating is also a crock of shit.
Excellent explained thank you
Thank u for such a knowledgeable video........☺☺
Christians don't use science to try to find God; God uses science to draw us to him.
Bulletproof1951 Creationist use science in the same way a hobo uses a light post; for support instead of illumination. And when that fails they try to piss on it.
Roddy Yang "7 days" isnt actually 7 days. Just because some people believe in God, doesnt mean they'll believe the bible word for word.
>>>G-D uses science
THANK YOU you explain this way more easily then my archaeology professor now I get it
very helpful :D
got to know the related idea sir... nice one
this is So neat,thanks 👍😀
INCREIBLE!
Simple and easy explanations
Very helpful vdo❤
that,s a good explanation a student like me can get to the concept easily thanx
THANK YOU. biology is hard and the wording in lectures make it even harder. this explained it simply. thank you.
Thank you for your great teach
Thanks for the video, it is the best (by far!) that explains carbon dating in a way I can understand. Thanks! :3
The only thing you need to understand is that carbon dating does not work. None of the methods work. They're all scams designed with the sole intention of getting people to believe in "millions and billions of years" - period...
I study in Electrical Engineering, but focus on Physics. I lightly know about the topic of fossilization. I shall concede, because you are probably much more knowledgable than I can even pretend to be on the subject. Thanks for the info. Good luck on the finals!
explaining scientific phenomenons as its best, in the most easy way. Guys you are owesame, very intelligent and simple :)
This information was pretty good, bro
Fantastic thank u so much❤❤
Thanks Sir!
Thank you Micheal
perfect explanation
thank you !
I was just wrecking my brain over it.
Now it's all clear.
Thanks a lot sir
Thanks!
Useful 👍👍
Finally I can truly understand Car Seat Headrest
Sir, tq, u cleared my doubt
so interesting ! I made notes to keep it memorized !
This info is almost like reading a Cook Book
Thank you sir ❤️
nice explanation sir tq
Great Explanation ❤
Thank you sir.
Excellent👍
Thanks
Easy to understand
UNDERSTAND THIS: A measurable amount of carbon-14 cannot last for more 50,000 to 75,000 years MAX - in ANY substance - yet it's not only found in DINOSAUR BONES, but ALSO in OIL, NATURAL GAS, COAL, and EVEN DIAMONDS - WHICH ARE ALLEGED TO BE 1 TO 3 BILLION YEARS OLD! This one, single, solitary fact ALONE, disproves "billions of years!" Period!
Thanks for information 🙏💕😌🙏🙏💕
Vine por las fuentes del Robot de Platón... Muy buena explicación, me gusta que hable pronunciando formalmente, así lo entiendo muy bien. Saludos!!
Thanks, Michael! Now I understand Carbon Dating !!!
Room 206 in Toronto, Canada.
Thank you
Cool video
cool video. to the point.
what are the elements they use to see if something is older?
Uranium-Lead
Thanks sir
Super video
I love it
That initial slow, deliberate turn to camera was epic. This guy Fs
😀 very helpful
Thanks sir, 🙏❤️🤗
Teacher made me watch this
I've found it's the short and simple explanations that are the easiest to understand.
"Animal and plant remains can undergo a variety of physical and chemical changes during fossilisation. This results in fossils showing varying styles and degrees of organic preservation:
minimal decay with only some loss of soft tissue
preservation of a skeleton with minimal change
removal of all organic material except carbon, which remains as a film in the rock"
RUclips does not allow me to post the reference link :(
I have a few questions:
How do scientists know that the half life of C-14 is 5730 years?
How do scientists know the initial amount of C-14 inside of the organism when the organism died?
Welp after hearing people say over and over, "carbon dating isnt that reliable" And hearing this, it seems like a very legitimate way to date things. I mean its not like you can get a accurate date but close enough is still pretty good.
Wish it was a bit more detailed but thank you!!