What is the half-life of Carbon 14?

The half-life of Carbon-14 is about 5,730 years, which is often approximated to around 6,000 years for simplicity in various contexts. This is the time it takes for half of a given amount of Carbon-14 to decay into nitrogen-14 through beta decay. Carbon-14 is widely used in radiocarbon dating, a technique employed to date organic material by measuring the amount of Carbon-14 remaining in the sample. This measurement relies on knowing the half-life to accurately assess the age of the material.

Understanding the half-life is crucial for fields such as archaeology, geology, and environmental science, as it provides insights into historical time frames and the dating of fossils, ancient artifacts, and geological formations. The approximation of almost 6000 years serves as a practical reference for many applications involving Carbon-14 dating.