I'm a carbon, date me!

[EstimatedProphet]

[mosin]

1. You can't date...

individual carbon atoms. You can, however, date a sample using the proportion of C-14 atoms in the carbon population of the sample. Or something like that.

[EstimatedProphet]

2. Who do you think you are, Miss Manners?

Who are you to say who I can and can't date? I'll date whoever I want!
:):):)

[aeolian]

10. method

An inidvidual radioactive atom has a given probability of decay per unit time. This probability is constant for all similar isotopes (for example, all carbon-14 atoms will have this same probability).

Averaged over the billions of atoms in a typical sample, this translates into a geometric rate of decay: the "half-life" is the time required for half of the atoms to decay.

Therefore, if you are given a sample of carbon and told that, originally, say, half of the atoms were C14 and the rest were C12, you could easily measure the age of the sample by taking it over to a mass spectrometer and measuring the current proportion of C14 to C12.

Class dismissed. Attractive, twentysomething female students will be required to meet me in my office in 15 minutes.

[Wapsie B]

3. I'm a Fermata,

hold me.

[aeolian]

6. rolling eyes

at the bad music pun.

:D

[Wapsie B]

8. I'm an Accent Mark,

attack me!

Sorry, I'm just got a warped sense of humor today.

:)

[Aristus]

4. Don't date Carbon. Date me. I'm Potassium\Argon.

I'm older and I last longer. :evilgrin:

[aeolian]

7. screw that!

I'm Uranium-235.

4.2 billion year half-life, baby!

[Aristus]

9. Okay then, I'm Californium-252, most valuable substance EVER!

Cost: $1,000 per microgram, or $250 Billion dollars per pound. Top THAT!

[Wapsie B]

11. Cool!

Where do you get that stuff?

[aeolian]

13. a heavy-ion particle collider

Or your grocer's freezer.

(huh?)

[Aristus]

14. Cecil Adams' "The Straight Dope"

http://www.straightdope.com/

Check it out. It's a lot of fun.

[aeolian]

15. I am a neutron star

effectively a single atomic nucleus, thousands of miles wide, with the mass of a star.

[bif]

5. About 1980?

Just a rough guess.

[Endangered Specie]

12. Screw Carbon, I'm Francium, Date ME!!!

Im EXPLOSIVE in bed! ;)

[Aristus]

16. Yeah, but you're so small you can't even be seen

and you only last for fifteen minutes. :evilgrin:

[Endangered Specie]

17. Actually, Im one of the biggest heaviest elements around!

I really want to put my excess electron in your open orbital!