C-14 carbon dating

[Solembum1]

Hi, I'd like to know if C-14 radiocarbon dating studies are at all conclusive. Pre-test cleaning methods never remove 100% of contaminants, usually around 90-99%. Therefore, can these contaminants invalidate the test results? For example, if we have a linen cloth that we clean and traces of younger contaminants, such as oil, remain, will the test results indicate this younger layer of contaminants and not the underlying layer of the cloth?

[CarissaP]

Hello,
C-14 radiocarbon dating is generally considered to be a reliable method for dating organic materials. There are many physical and chemical methods to clean objects of any other carbon-containing materials. For example, charcoal, wood, peat, and textiles often undergo an acid-alkali-acid treatment with hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide. Objects containing sediment often receive acid washes, and other materials like shells usually undergo acid etching, where surface layers of the material are taken off with an acid, like ferric chloride. I believe that using acids and alkalis can remove contaminants such as oil from materials. Finally, even a small deviation is usually still accurate enough for dating objects that are millions of years old.
Hope this helps!

[Phoebeclancy]

Adding on to the previous reply, Carbon-14 dating is considered to be conclusive. You are right to be thinking about impurities, however, with meticulous preparation and multiple tests, these impurities should not significantly affect the validity of your experiment.