Particle accelerator Methods and Images

Scientists measure the age of objects by measuring its radiocarbon content.This process is called as RadioCarbon Dating. Two methods of Radiocarbon dating are shown and described here.

Particle accelerator Methods and Images














Particle accelerator







In the Traditional Method, a piece of the object is burned and converted into Carbon Dioxide gas.Radiocarbon ( Carbon 14 ) atoms in the gas release electrons as the radio carbon changes into Nitrogen 14. Radiation counters detect the number of electrons given off ,which determines the object's radiocarbon content.

In a newer method, a particle accelerator fires charged atoms originally from a small piece of object into a magnetic field. The field deflects and separates the various carbon atoms by their weight. Then a detector counts individual carbon 14 Atoms to determine the object's radiocarbon content.