Changes

Carbon dating is not used to measure beyond thousands of years, despite some claiming that carbon dating is used to date dinosaur fossils and other things claimed to be millions of years old. Even those who understand carbon dating's limits may believe that radioactive carbon "runs out" after a set amount of time.

Carbon dating is not used to measure beyond thousands of years, despite some claiming that carbon dating is used to date dinosaur fossils and other things claimed to be millions of years old. Even those who understand carbon dating's limits may believe that radioactive carbon "runs out" after a set amount of time.

The maximum age depends upon the sensitivity of the equipment. The amount never drops to zero (ignoring the finite amount of atoms), it just approaches zero as an [asymptote]. If the equipment can accurately measure a concentration of 1/8'th the natural sample, than it can measure items up to three half-lives old. A more sensitive instrument that can detect 1/16'th of normal carbon-14 can date to 4 half lives old.

The maximum age depends upon the sensitivity of the equipment. The amount never drops to zero (ignoring the finite amount of atoms), it just approaches zero as an [[asymptote]]. If the equipment can accurately measure a concentration of 1/8'th the natural sample, than it can measure items up to three half-lives old. A more sensitive instrument that can detect 1/16'th of normal carbon-14 can date to 4 half lives old.

==See also==

==See also==