Radiocarbon dating
TopicHeard in 1 episode across 1 show since Jul 2026
Radiocarbon dating is a scientific method used to determine the age of organic materials by measuring their content of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon. Developed in the late 1940s by Willard Libby, the technique relies on the steady decay of carbon-14 after an organism dies. It is widely utilized in archaeology, geology, and other earth sciences to date specimens up to approximately 50,000 years old.
Episodes
First heard
Expert statements
Episodes per month
Public PodLume episodes featuring it, over the last year.
Show the data
| Month | Episodes |
|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 0 |
| Dec 2025 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 0 |
| Feb 2026 | 0 |
| Mar 2026 | 0 |
| Apr 2026 | 0 |
| May 2026 | 0 |
| Jun 2026 | 0 |
| Jul 2026 | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | 0 |
| Sep 2026 | 0 |
| Oct 2026 | 0 |
What experts have said about Radiocarbon dating
1 statement · 1 neutral
Carbon dating organic objects does not necessarily date the construction of their surrounding structure.
“when you carbon date an object, right? So you could go visit the pyramids today, right, and you could leave behind some stuff, right? And then everybody dies. Humanity dies out in a cataclysm. And then a hundred thousand years from now, people start looking through the piles of some of these sites and the pyramids will probably still be there. And if there was any organic material left, like a book that you left, or you know, a leather bound book or some piece of wood, they could carbon date that. And then that would say the time that you were there, but it wouldn't say the time that the actual structure was made.”
Open the episode · #2532 - Tim RobbinsListen at 5:34
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
Episodes
1 episode featuring Radiocarbon dating, newest first
