Radioactive dating artifacts

Radioactive dating artifacts

Radiometric dating methods detect beta particles from the decay of carbon 14 atoms while accelerator mass spectrometers count the number of carbon 14 atoms present in the sample.Both carbon dating methods have advantages and disadvantages.

One is the cyclotron, and the other is a tandem electrostatic accelerator.Mass spectrometers detect atoms of specific elements according to their atomic weights.They, however, do not have the sensitivity to distinguish atomic isobars (atoms of different elements that have the same atomic weight, such as in the case of carbon 14 and nitrogen 14—the most common isotope of nitrogen).Accelerator mass spectrometers need only as little as 20 milligrams and as high as 500 milligrams for certain samples whereas conventional methods need at least 10 grams in samples like wood and charcoal and as much as 100 grams in bones and sediments.Accelerator mass spectrometers typically need sample sizes lesser than conventional methods by a factor of 1,000. Hence, because of its ability to analyze samples even in minute amounts, accelerator mass spectrometry is the method of choice for archaeologists with small artifacts and those who cannot destroy very expensive or rare materials.Thanks to nuclear physics, mass spectrometers have been fine-tuned to separate a rare isotope from an abundant neighboring mass, and accelerator mass spectrometry was born.

A method has finally been developed to detect carbon 14 in a given sample and ignore the more abundant isotopes that swamp the carbon 14 signal.

These two radiocarbon dating methods use modern standards such as oxalic acid and other reference materials.

Although both radiocarbon dating methods produce high-quality results, they are fundamentally different in principle.

An accelerator mass spectrometer, although a powerful tool, is also a costly one.

Establishing and maintaining an accelerator mass spectrometer costs millions of dollars.

In mass analysis, a magnetic field is applied to these moving charged particles, which causes the particles to deflect from the path they are traveling.