"What is 14C?!" Booklet published!
2025-07-29
The Institute for Space–Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Nagoya University, has released a new comic book titled “What is 14C?!”, which provides an accessible introduction to carbon-14 (14C) and its significance through MANGA.
14C is a radioactive isotope produced in the atmosphere by cosmic rays. With a half-life of 5,730 years, it decays to half of its original amount over that time span. This property makes 14C a valuable tool for dating materials in a wide range of fields, including Earth and space sciences, archaeology, and history. It is also widely used in research exploring the activities of the Earth and the Sun.
This booklet is primarily aimed at junior and senior high school students, providing a clear and easy-to-understand explanation of 14C. The author is Hayanon, a science-related manga artist who has been working on this series since 2002, and the Science Manga Production Office. The series explores the world of science with Hayanon’s original characters, “Moru,” a girl who loves science, and “Milbo,” a robot dog.
The manga “What is 14C?!” was produced with support from the MEXT Promotion of Development of a Joint Usage/Research System Project: Coalition of Universities for Research Excellence Program (CURE) “Transdisciplinary Network linking Space–Earth Environmental Science, History, and Archaeology (TranSEHA)” (Program No. JPMXP1324134720). The production was supervised by Prof. Masayo Minami (Manager of the Office for the Promotion of Transdisciplinary Network: OPTN) and Associate Prof. Fusa Miyake (OPTN member).
The manga “What is 14C?!” and other books in the “What is it?!” manga series are available on the ISEE website:
https://www.isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en/outreach.html
