Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 3, 2026

Isolation of Quartz Grains for Optically Stimulated Luminescence OSL Dating of Quaternary Sediments for Paleoenvironmental Research
Published on: August 2, 2021
Quantum-mechanical equilibrium isotopic fractionation correction to radiocarbon dating: a theory study
1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46 Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002 Guizhou People's Republic of China ; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039 China.
Abstract:
This paper relates the quantum-mechanical equilibrium isotopic fractionation correction to the radiocarbon dating method by Eq. 9, and also shows the significant influence of temperature on the method. It is suggested that the correction is a function of the frequencies and temperature of a specific sample and these two variables can be evaluated theoretically by the ab initio quantum calculations and experimentally by analyzing the clumped-isotope ratios in it, respectively. This paper also suggests that the 14C/12C ratio in the atmosphere in geological time can be calculated by Eq. 10.
Related Concept Videos
Mass Spectrometry: Isotope Effect
Radioactive Decay and Radiometric Dating
The Bohr Model
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution
¹³C NMR: ¹H–¹³C Decoupling
A broadband decoupling technique is used to simplify these complex, sometimes overlapping, signals. Broadband decoupling relies on a...
Radioactivity and Nuclear Equations
A nuclide of an element has a specific number of protons and...

