<P> There are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon on Earth : 99 % of the carbon is carbon - 12 , 1 % is carbon - 13 , and carbon - 14 occurs in trace amounts , i.e. , making up about 1 or 1.5 atoms per 10 atoms of the carbon in the atmosphere . Carbon - 12 and carbon - 13 are both stable , while the half - life of carbon - 14 is 5,730 ± 40 years . Carbon - 14 decays into nitrogen - 14 through beta decay . A gram of carbon containing 1 atom of carbon - 14 per 10 atoms will emit 0.2 beta particles per second . The primary natural source of carbon - 14 on Earth is cosmic ray action on nitrogen in the atmosphere , and it is therefore a cosmogenic nuclide . However , open - air nuclear testing between 1955 -- 1980 contributed to this pool . </P>
<P> There are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon on Earth : 99 % of the carbon is carbon - 12 , 1 % is carbon - 13 , and carbon - 14 occurs in trace amounts , i.e. , making up about 1 or 1.5 atoms per 10 atoms of the carbon in the atmosphere . Carbon - 12 and carbon - 13 are both stable , while the half - life of carbon - 14 is 5,730 ± 40 years . Carbon - 14 decays into nitrogen - 14 through beta decay . A gram of carbon containing 1 atom of carbon - 14 per 10 atoms will emit 0.2 beta particles per second . The primary natural source of carbon - 14 on Earth is cosmic ray action on nitrogen in the atmosphere , and it is therefore a cosmogenic nuclide . However , open - air nuclear testing between 1955 -- 1980 contributed to this pool . </P>
what type of reaction is the decay of carbon-14
what type of reaction is the decay of carbon-14
beta decay
beta decay