Since half life is a constant, the ratio of carbon 14 to nitrogen 14 provides a measurement of the age of a sample. At the time of death organisms stop producing carbon 14. During beta decay, carbon 14 becomes nitrogen 14. It measures the time it takes for a given amount of the substance to become reduced by half as a consequence of decay, and therefore, the emission of radiation.Īrcheologists and geologists use half-life to date the age of organic objects in a process known as carbon dating. The half-life of a radioactive substance is a characteristic constant. It's a Question of Physics: What is meant by half-life? Half-Life
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