radiocarbon

noun

ra·dio·car·bon ˌrā-dē-ō-ˈkär-bən

often attributive

: radioactive carbon

especially : carbon 14

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Subsequent radiocarbon testing identified the most probable period as 1500 to 1600 A.D. Modern adaptations of tartan-like styles, commonly referred to as plaid, have become popular fashion choices. —

Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 28 Mar. 2023 To determine the age of the Glen Affric tartan, the STA commissioned a dye analysis and radiocarbon testing. —

Carolyn Hagler, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023 Since the 1950s researchers have known that the concentration of radiocarbon in tree rings varies over time. —

Katherine Kornei, Scientific American, 6 Mar. 2023 Their search began five years ago with a single radiocarbon clue from the ocean floor. —

Lisa Wells, Harper’s Magazine , 13 Mar. 2023 The technique provides the date of death by measuring the remaining radiocarbon component of organic remains like bone or wood. —

Alex Schoeman, Quartz, 29 May 2021 To trace when the animals spread, researchers radiocarbon dated and analyzed the DNA of the remains of more than two dozen horses found across the Western U.S. —

Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2023 After measuring the radiocarbon concentrations in 20 samples from the trunk of a modern tree, and another 11 from a live branch cut in 2013, physicist Elisabetta Boaretto and her colleagues at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science found that olive tree rings don’t reveal their secrets so easily. —

Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 10 Aug. 2018 Faith, Chase and Quick sampled middens near Boomplaas Cave last September and received the first radiocarbon dates from the samples earlier this year. —

Elise Cutts, Scientific American, 14 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'radiocarbon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.