Gyanvapi Mosque Case: Radiocarbon dating or carbon dating or carbon-14 dating become a buzzing word in media today owing very religiously significant Gyanvapi mosque case in which Hindu activists were demanding the scientific test to be done upon the ‘Shivling’ which was reportedly found inside the Masjid. However, Varanasi District Court rejected their demand.
Meanwhile, the matter is very sensitive as it involves the religious sentiment of lakhs of people from both sides- Hindu and Muslim.
So, do you know what is the ‘Carbon dating test’? And why is Hindu side pressing it?
The ‘Carbon dating test’ is a scientific method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. A radiometric dating uses the known rate of decay of radioactive isotopes to date an object. Developed in the late 1940s at the University of Chicago by Willard Libby, the method is used for various purposes, including determining of age objects or monuments found during an excavation by archaeological survey and the timing of crime.
The radiocarbon dating method is one of the finest processes of dating human fossils. It works on the fact that radiocarbon (14C) is constantly being created in the Earth's atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with atmospheric nitrogen. The resulting 14 C combines with atmospheric oxygen to form radioactive carbon dioxide, which is incorporated into plants by photosynthesis; animals then acquire 14 C by eating the plants.
Also Read: Gyanvapi mosque: Varanasi Court rejects demand for carbon dating of 'Shivling'
