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Unlock the secrets of history and archaeology with a method developed right here at the University of Chicago: Carbon-14 dating, also known as radiocarbon dating. This revolutionary scientific technique, pioneered in the late 1940s by chemistry professor Willard Libby and his team, allows us to accurately determine the age of organic materials, such as plants, animals, and even human remains, up to approximately 60,000 years old. By merging chemistry and physics, Libby built upon the discovery of the carbon-14 isotope and developed a method based on its predictable decay rate. This invention triggered archaeology's "radiocarbon revolution" and earned Libby the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960. Discover how radiocarbon dating works by measuring the decay of carbon-14 in dead organisms, whose tissues absorbed this isotope while they were alive. Learn about the techniques developed to measure the remaining carbon-14 atoms, from counting single atom decays to using modern accelerator mass spectrometry for more precise results from smaller samples. This powerful tool has been applied across various fields, including historical studies, atmospheric science (like tracking CO2 sources), biology (such as studying Alzheimer's progression using bomb-pulse carbon-14), and even authenticating historical artifacts like the Shroud of Turin. Join us to explore the enduring impact of this UChicago breakthrough on our understanding of the past. P. Geo. Ricardo A Valls, M. Sc. and Geo Gadfly Valls Geoconsultant ORCID ID- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5421-0914 Scopus Author ID: 7003369619/35335510700 ResearcherID: S-6604-2018 If you like this content, please "buy me a coffee" https://www.buymeacoffee.com/goldendroplets