Category
page 1Carbon-14
carbon-14
Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Carbon-14 was discovered on February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California. Its existence had been suggested by Franz Kurie in 1934. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues (1949) to date archaeological, geological and hydrogeological samples.
Martin Kamen
American biochemist and molecular biologist (1913–2002)
Sam Ruben
American biochemist (1913-1943)
774–775 carbon-14 spike
observed increase of 1.2% in the concentration of carbon-14 isotope in tree rings dated to 774 or 775
993–994 carbon-14 spike
solar storm