Carbon

Carbon-12 is a stable isotope of carbon, meaning it is one of the forms of carbon found in nature. It consists of 6 protons and 6 neutrons in its nucleus. Carbon-12 is significant because it makes up about 99% of carbon on Earth and serves as a fundamental building block of life, forming organic compounds. Additionally, it plays a crucial role in scientific dating methods, like radiocarbon dating, which researchers use to determine the age of ancient artifacts and fossils based on the decay of its radioactive counterpart, carbon-14.