In 1946, Willard Libby (1908–1980) developed a method for dating organic materials by measuring their content of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon.

Which scientific method was developed by Willard Libby?

Radiocarbon dating After the war, Libby accepted professorship at the University of Chicagos Institute for Nuclear Studies, where he developed the technique for dating organic compounds using carbon-14 .Willard LibbyNationalityAmericanAlma materUniversity of California, BerkeleyKnown forRadiocarbon dating11 more rows

Why did Willard Libby develop carbon dating?

Willard Libby (1908–1980), a professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago, began the research that led him to radiocarbon dating in 1945. Theoretically, if one could detect the amount of carbon-14 in an object, one could establish that objects age using the half-life, or rate of decay, of the isotope.

Where did Willard F Libby become a professor?

Libby became professor of chemistry at the Institute for Nuclear Studies (now the Enrico Fermi Institute for Nuclear Studies) and the department of chemistry at the University of Chicago (1945–59).

Did Willard Libby win a Nobel Prize?

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1960 was awarded to Willard Frank Libby for his method to use carbon-14 for age determination in archaeology, geology, geophysics, and other branches of science.