Geologists do not use carbon-based radiometric dating to determine the age of rocks. Carbon dating only works for objects that are younger than about 50,000 years, and most rocks of interest are older than that. Over time, carbon-14 decays radioactively and turns into nitrogen.

Does carbon dating work on living things?

Carbon dating is used to work out the age of organic material — in effect, any living thing. As a rule, carbon dates are younger than calendar dates: a bone carbon-dated to 10,000 years is around 11,000 years old, and 20,000 carbon years roughly equates to 24,000 calendar years.

What are C 12 C 13 and C 14 called?

Both 12C and 13C are called stable isotopes since they do not decay into other forms or elements over time. The rare carbon-14 (14C) isotope contains eight neutrons in its nucleus.

What is the difference between C 12 and C 14?

The difference between carbon-12 and carbon-14 is the number of neutrons in each of their atoms. Atoms of carbon-12 have 6 neutrons, while atoms of carbon-14 contain 8 neutrons. A neutral atom would have the same number of protons and electrons, so a neutral atom of carbon-12 or carbon-14 would have 6 electrons.