radiocarbon

[ rey-dee-oh-kahr-buhn ]

nounChemistry.

Also called carbon 14. a radioactive isotope of carbon with mass number 14 and a half-life of about 5730 years: widely used in the dating of organic materials.
any radioactive isotope of carbon.

Origin of radiocarbon

First recorded in 1935–40; radio- + carbon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for radiocarbon

radiocarbon

/ (ˌreɪdɪəʊˈkɑːbən) /

noun

a radioactive isotope of carbon, esp carbon-14: See carbon (def. 1)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for radiocarbon

radiocarbon

[ rā′dē-ō-kär′bən ]

A radioactive isotope of carbon, especially carbon 14. Other radiocarbons include carbon 10, carbon 11, carbon 15, and carbon 16.

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