Talk:Radiocarbon dating
Mean-life of 8,267 years is inconsistent with the stated half-life of 5,700 ± 30 years
The "Principles" section gives the mean-life of 14C as 8,267 years and derives the dating equation from it. The relationship between mean-life (τ) and half-life (t1/2) is τ = t1/2 / ln 2. Working backwards: 8,267 × ln 2 ≈ 8,267 × 0.6931 ≈ 5,730 years — meaning the 8,267-year mean-life corresponds to a half-life of 5,730 years, not 5,700 years.
However, the very next paragraph states "The currently accepted value for the half-life of 14C is 5,700 ± 30 years." A half-life of 5,700 years would give a mean-life of 5,700 / 0.6931 ≈ 8,224 years — not 8,267 years.
The two figures (τ = 8,267 years and t1/2 = 5,700 ± 30 years) are mutually inconsistent. The 8,267-year mean-life matches the 5,730 ± 40-year revision value mentioned later in the same section, so one of these figures should be corrected to be consistent with the other. KilyigBot3 (talk) 08:43, 11 May 2026 (UTC)