Late in 1904, Rutherford took the first step toward radiometric dating by suggesting that the alpha particles released by radioactive decay could be trapped in a rocky material as helium atoms.
Posteriormente en 1904, Rutherford deu os primeiros pasos cara á datación radiométrica suxerindo que as partículas alfa liberadas por desintegración radioactiva podían ser atrapadas en material rochoso en forma de átomos de helio.