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Description
Carbon-14 dating works by measuring the amount of carbon-14 (an unstable carbon isotope) contained within an object as compared with the amounts of other, stable carbon isotopes. Carbon-14 decays at a constant rate, meaning that as time passes, less and less of it will be present, whereas the stable isotopes will remain constant.
Limitations
Carbon-14's rate of decay means that no measurable amount is left after about 50,000 years, making that the age limit the method can be used for. It also cannot be used to date inorganic materials, which would never have absorbed carbon from the outside environment, and can be thrown off if the objects tested came from unusual environments in which environmental carbon would have been concentrated or kept out, unless calibrated to account for such.
Accuracy
The calculations used in dating an object must be calibrated to account for the amount of carbon-14 in the environment at the time the object was made, in order to achieve an accurate result. Fortunately, such calibrations are easy due to extensive studies of objects of a known age (such as extremely old trees and objects whose creation was recorded), and a standard "calibration curve" covering more than 10,000 years has been created. When properly calibrated, the results from carbon-14 dating are extremely reliable.