When carbon dating, the term half-life is used. I understand that it refers to half the time it takes carbon-14 to decay. However, why half the life? Why not the full time or 3/4 the time?
by 
AKCeltics19
ANSWERS: 3
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It can't be measureed after full time. Full time never happens: Start with 100g after one half life you have 50g, after two half lifes you have 25g, after three 12.5g and so on. Half is just easier to calculate than 3/4 If you start with M grams, After n half lives, you have M (1/2)^n = M / (2^n) grams left. And 2 is the easiest number to raise to a power. If it were "three-quarter-lives" the formula would be M (0.75)^n 2^3 is 8. What's 0.75^3 ?
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Your understanding of half-life is a little bit off. It's not half the time it takes for an element to decay, it's the amount of time it takes for half of the element to decay. They sound very similar, but they're different. The way you understand it, if the half life of an element is 10 years, you would expect it to be gone in 20, right? That's not how it happens. After the first 10 years, half of the sample will have decayed (half will remain). After another 10 years, half of that remaining half will decay (in other words, you'll have .25 of the original sample). And so on. But since you just keep taking half of was there, you should theoretically never have an element completely disappear.
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ORIGINAL CARBON MAKES GREENERY FLOURISH MORE, BUT LISTENING TO BUSH, PEOPLE DONT REALIZE ITS GOOD. ONLY CARBON DEOXIDE IS BAD, BUT ONCE IT RISES INTO THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE IT SEPARATES INTO NOTHINGNESS. WATCH AS IT COMES OUT OF THE EXHAUST, WATCH IT DECIPATE OR DISAPPEAR. ONLY WHEN IN A ENCLOSED AREA DOES IT COLLECT AND SUFFOCATE. OTHERWISE IT RISES INTO NOTHINGNESS. PEOPLE NEED TO THINK. IF IN THE LAST BILLION YEARS YOU CAN SEE THE SUN AND MOON, YOU CAN SURMISE THAT NATURE IS PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT AND WILL DO SO UNTIL A MAD SCIENTIST DOES SOMETHING TO STOP US FROM SEEING THE SUN, LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE. THEN EARTH WILL BE LIFELESS. http://www.inventube.com/ooojay/blog/ AND UPDATE FOR ALL ON EARTH.
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