Is carbon dating wrong

Answer 1

Carbon dating is only accurate up to about 60 000 years.

It makes the assumption that the concentration of C-14 in our atmosphere has been relatively constant for the last 60 000 years. If this assumption is correct then carbon dating is accurate. It cannot be used for samples less than around 100 years due to the testing of atomic bombs which altered the 14C levels. Calibration curves are used to date the age of know antiquities (they are mentioned in historical documents so their age can be known). Other than that there are inaccuracies of a few percent as the object gets older than several thousand years.

Answer 2

Within the physical limitations of the technique and theoretical work behind it (you can't use it on very young things and it doesn't work when you go too far back), yes, it is extremely reliable. Objects have been carbon-dated and the results were within weeks of the known date of origin; the error values of experimentation were far greater than the actual difference between dated and known times.

Answer 3

Radiocarbon dating is very useful for finding the ages of objects of organic origin up to about 60,000 years old. However, a sample that is to be dated with this method can actually be contaminated by things such as smoke, which will alter the results of the test.