carbon 14

American  

Also carbon-14

noun

1. radiocarbon.

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carbon 14 Scientific  

1. A naturally occurring radioactive isotope of carbon having six protons and eight neutrons in the nucleus. Carbon 14 is important in dating archaeological and biological remains by radiocarbon dating.

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carbon 14 Cultural  

1. A radioactive isotope of carbon. A carbon 14 atom contains six protons, six electrons, and eight neutrons. Carbon 14 is produced when neutrons bombard atoms of nitrogen.

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Discover More

Carbon 14 is used in a common form of radioactive dating to determine the age of ancient objects.

Etymology

Origin of carbon 14

First recorded in 1935–40

Compare meaning

How does carbon-14 compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• carbon 12 vs. carbon 14

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carbon 14

They discovered spikes in carbon 14 that pointed to a sub-extreme solar proton event.

From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026

By analyzing carbon 14 levels in preserved organic material such as ancient buried trees, scientists can track changes in solar activity stretching back thousands of years.

From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026

Trees with unusual spikes in carbon 14 can also indicate a Miyake event.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 19, 2023

Tipped off by earlier research suggesting a pronounced increase in atmospheric carbon 14 some time in the late eighth century, Miyake began examining individual tree rings dating from C.E.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 6, 2023

This method is based on the slow decay of radioactive carbon 14, a very minor component of carbon, the ubiquitous building block of life, into the nonradioactive isotope nitrogen 14.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond