Riddle #2 Answer
- katerinabiryukova
- Feb 28
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 27
Answer: CARBON-14 (C-14)!
This is a type of carbon atom with 8 neutrons.
The Discovery
👨🔬 🧑🔬 In mid-1930s, scientists thought that C-14 would be impossible to detect as it would decay extremely fast. In 1939, Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben set out on this seemingly unachievable mission and worked through 1 year with no results.
On February 27th, 1940, they initiated a “desperation” experiment🔦: a piece of graphite was bombed with deuterons (a hydrogen ion with 1 proton and 2 neutrons) for 120 hours straight! The outcome – chemical analysis determined that the sample turned into radioactive carbon-14.
How Does Carbon-14 Form?✴️
🌠Cosmic rays from space collide with an atom in our atmosphere to produce an energetic neutron🔵, which then collides with a nitrogen atom, creating a C-14 atom.
Carbon Dating⏱️
1. In the atmosphere, C-14 combines with O to create CO2💨.
2. Plants take this C-14 into their fibers through photosynthesis, so animals that eat the plants (or animals that eat animals that eat the plants) also have carbon-14🌱.
3. Ratio of carbon-14 in living things remains constant, but after death, animals no longer take it in, and carbon-14 decays⬇️.
4. Scientists determine the age of organic matter by comparing the known constant ratio with the amount of C-14 in the sample📊.
For instance, carbon dating has been used to:
🔹 estimate that North America’s last ice age ended 11,000 years ago🧊
🔹 gather information about the Indus Valley Civilisation – one of the 3 earliest civilizations along with Egypt and Mesopotamia⌛
🔹 detect art forgeries ex. Robert Trotter’s fake of “Sarah Honn” exposed in 2019🖼️
😲‼️Connection with Material Science
▪️Tracer: tracking the passage of drugs through the body🩻
▪️Carbon-14 Diamond Battery💎🔋: In 2024, scientists at UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the University of Bristol created a battery from C-14 that can last thousands of years! They can be used in medical devices (ex. hearing aids) because they are biocompatible or in extreme environments like space where it’s not easy to replace batteries.
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