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wood samples
accurately estimating the age of wood from a series of samples for which the age was known, including an ancient Egyptian royal barge of 1850 BC. -
Carbon dating discovered
Sam Kamen and Martin Ruben discover C-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon, at University of California, Berkeley. -
c-14 in living matter
Willard Libby in America predicts that C-14 exists in living matter. -
proved
Willard Libby (pictured) and Ernie Anderson make first detection of C-14 in biological material. -
first new zealand
first radiocarbon dates from moa bones -
accuracy
accuracy greatly improved using calibration curve -
nobel prize
Willard was awarded the nobel prize in chemistry for carbon 14 dating. -
second lab opened in new zealand
Waikato Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory is set up at University of Waikato -
first Accelerator Mass Spectrometer
In 1977, the first Accelerator Mass Spectrometer measurements were conducted. AMS differed from other methods in that the carbon 14 and carbon 12 isotopes were separated in the particle accelerator according to their mass and counted. This was more precise and thus only small milligram-sized samples were required for dating. -
shroud
shroud dated between 1260-1390 AD. This fits closely with its first appearance in the historical record and suggests strongly that it is a medieval artefact, rather than a genuine 2000-year-old burial cloth. -
first lab in the southeren hemisphere
An accelerator mass spectrometer at the Institute of Nuclear Science, Lower Hutt, is the first for radiocarbon dating in southern hemisphere -
new organistation
a new crown research institute is formed -
accuracy
accuracy greatly improved due to bayesian statistical method -
New AMS opens
Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory gets new accelerator mass spectrometer, the only facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere -
c-14 mesurment continues
longest record in the world
