Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon discovered February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben. Its nucleus contains 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is used in radiocarbon dating.

The half-life of carbon-14 is 5730 years. It decays into nitrogen-14 through beta-decay.

See also

• Carbon
• Carbon-12
• Isotope
• Radiocarbon dating

References

Kamen, Martin D. Radiant Science, Dark Politics: A Memoir of the Nuclear Age, Forward by Edwin M. McMillan, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985.