What are some examples of radioactive dating?

1 Answer
Jul 17, 2014

Radioactive dating is very interesting because often this is where history and science mingle.

One example of radioactive dating is carbon-14 dating. Carbon-14 dating can be used on anything that was once alive, be it plant or animal. A couple of wonderful examples have been in the news in the past years.

When bone fragments are found that are believed to be human or human-like, carbon-14 dating is often used to determine the approximate age of the remains.

Another fascinating example is the Shroud of Turin (you might check this out on the Internet). It is believed by some to have covered Jesus when he was in the tomb. Carbon-14 dating, however, dates the shroud to the 1260 to 1390. If you get a chance, check out the Shroud because a photographic negative actually showed the image on the Shroud for the first time in the late 1800's.

For older items, isotopes of potassium have been used.

Hopefully, this helps to answer your question.