Carbon-14 by the C urea breath test, which has no radiation issues. Carbon-14 Carbon-14, (C), or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues (1949) to date archaeological, geological and hydrogeological samples. Carbon-14 was discovered on February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California. Its existence had been suggested by Franz Kurie in 1934. There are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon
On-Line Isotope Mass Separator more than 60 physics experiments are active there. Radioactive nuclei are produced at ISOLDE by impinging a high energy beam of protons on a stationary target. There are a number of target materials depending on the desired final species. Collisions between the proton beam and the target produce a variety of fragments, which are extracted and filtered to yield the desired isotope. The time required for extraction places a lower limit on the half life of isotopes which can be produced by this method. Once extracted, the isotopes are directed either to one of several detectors, an isotope harvesting area,