What Is Carbon 14 Dating?

Most carbon atoms on earth are carbon 12. Carbon 14 is a different isotope, which means they have a different number of neutrons. Over time, it will emit radiation and turn into nitrogen. To measure how quickly an isotope decays to something else, scientists use a measurement known as its half life. In the case of carbon 14, its half life is about 50, 730 years. That means that if you know how many carbon 14 atoms a sample of material started with and how many there are now, you can figure out how long it's been since those atoms have been decaying.