word
radiocarbon dating
ray-dee-oh-KAR-bun DAY-ting
ˌreɪdioʊˈkɑːrbən ˈdeɪtɪŋListen
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Syllable breakdown
radiocarbondating
Dictionary meaning
a radiometric method for determining the approximate age of organic materials up to around 50,000 years old by measuring the decay of the radioactive isotope carbon-14, which is absorbed by all living organisms during life and begins to decay at a known rate after death; developed by Willard Libby in 1949, radiocarbon dating revolutionised archaeology and is now refined through calibration with tree-ring chronologies and other methods to produce precise calendar date ranges
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