The most common isotope of carbon is carbon-12 (¹²C). It consists of 6 protons and 6 neutrons, making it stable and the most prevalent carbon isotope in nature, comprising about 98.9% of all carbon found on Earth. The other isotopes of carbon include carbon-13 (¹³C) and carbon-14 (¹⁴C), the latter which is radioactive and used in radiocarbon dating. Understanding isotopes is crucial in various fields such as chemistry, geology, and archaeology.