What is the error factor(for lack of a better term) in radiocarbon dating? Does it depend on the age of the material? Qaulity of the material?
Radiocarbon dates come in two parts, a measured (or conventional) age, and a range. The range is usually expressed as plus or minus two sigma. That is a statistical measure of the accuracy of an age measurement at about 95%. (One sigma would be about 67%.)
Calibrated ages are generally expressed as a calendrical range, such as AD 1350-1550. This represents two sigma on either side of the intercept.
The math is complicated, and this is a simplified explanation, but no radiocarbon date should ever be expressed as a fixed date (such as AD 1450), but rather as a range at two sigma (such as AD 1350-1550).
Hope this helps. Here are a bunch of links for more details:
ReligiousTolerance.org Carbon-14 Dating (C-14): Beliefs of New-Earth CreationistsRadiometric Dating: A Christian Perspective by Dr. Roger C. Wiens.
This site, BiblicalChronologist.org has a series of good articles on radiocarbon dating.
Are tree-ring chronologies reliable? (The Biblical Chronologist, Vol. 5, No. 1)
Tree Ring and C14 DatingHow does the radiocarbon dating method work? (The Biblical Chronologist, Vol. 5, No. 1)
How precise is radiocarbon dating?
Is radiocarbon dating based on assumptions?
Has radiocarbon dating been invalidated by unreasonable results?
Radiocarbon WEB-info Radiocarbon Laboratory, University of Waikato, New Zealand.