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# radiocarbon

noun (radiocarbon, uncountable); adjective (radiocarbon)

«radiocarbon» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (science) A kind of carbon, called carbon-14, that is slightly radioactive and slowly breaks down over thousands of years. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/radiocarbon/#m1)
2. (adjective) Using carbon-14 to find out how old something is: «radiocarbon dating». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/radiocarbon/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science and history lessons radiocarbon dating tells how old once-living things are (wood, bone, cloth), up to about 50,000 years. All living things take in carbon-14; after they die it slowly disappears, so scientists measure what is left. Phrases: «radiocarbon dating», «radiocarbon age», «radiocarbon test».

### Examples

- Radiocarbon dating showed the wooden boat was 3,000 years old. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/radiocarbon/#x1)
- Scientists used radiocarbon to date the bones in the cave. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/radiocarbon/#x2)
- Radiocarbon dating only works on things that were once alive. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/radiocarbon/#x3)
- The Shroud of Turin was tested by radiocarbon dating in 1988. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/radiocarbon/#x4)
- You cannot use radiocarbon to date dinosaur bones; they are far too old. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/radiocarbon/#x5)
- Half of the radiocarbon in a sample breaks down in about 5,730 years. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/radiocarbon/#x6)

### Note

Uncountable. Also called carbon-14 or C-14. Maths: its half-life is about 5,730 years, so after 5,730 years half is left, after 11,460 years a quarter is left. Myth: radiocarbon dates dinosaurs — false; dinosaurs are tens of millions of years old, so other methods are used on rocks.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «radiocarbon» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/radiocarbon/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«radiocarbon» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/radiocarbon.html) on Mova free.