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Copied from helium, which had more information:
- Radioactive decay of uranium and thorium produces alpha particles that quickly become helium. This happens at a known constant rate so if the containing rock or mineral can retain its helium then the ratio of helium to its radioactive parent atoms indicates its age. Alternatively, if the helium is not well-retained, the ratio of helium-3 to helium-4 contains some of the same information, since only helium-4 is produced by radioactive decay. Use of helium in this way is called helium dating.
—Centrx→Talk 20:53, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
This article seems to be an exact copy of the Encyclopædia Britannica Online article at http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9039896/helium-dating and as such be a copyright violation... 84.238.10.71 (talk) 09:24, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
Delete this page and we can write a much more accurate and complete description of (U-Th)/He dating, anyway.Akulaalfa (talk) 17:30, 5 April 2008 (UTC)