How can carbon-14 be converted to carbon-12? Biology Origin of Life on Earth Radioactive Carbon Dating 1 Answer Ed Hitchcock Jan 19, 2016 It can't. Explanation: Carbon 14 (or 14C) is an unstable isotope of carbon with 8 neutrons instead of the typical 6. When 14C decays, it does so by beta decay, releasing a beta particle as one neutron becomes a proton. The product of the decay of 14C is nitrogen, 14N. Answer link Related questions Why does carbon 14 undergo radioactive decay? How can half-life be described in terms of radioactive decay? What are some examples of radioisotopes? What are radioisotopes? What is half-life? What is radioactive carbon dating? How can carbon 14 be used in biology? How can carbon 14 be used to date organic material? How carbon 14 dating is done? How does carbon 14 decay? See all questions in Radioactive Carbon Dating Impact of this question 4977 views around the world You can reuse this answer Creative Commons License