Helium Content of Rocks Does Not Support a Young Earth
TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
Research by two Columbia University geophysicists helps resolve a controversy over the helium content of mantle rocks and undermines claims that the earth is young. Most young-earth creationists argue that because scientists find a particular isotope of helium (3He) in mantle rocks, the earth cannot be older than a few thousand years otherwise all the 3He would have escaped. However, recent results show that rocks with the highest concentration of 3He are rocks that show the most evidence of melting (melting should accelerate the helium loss). These results imply that helium diffusion rates in the earth are much slower than originally thought and, therefore, it is no longer surprising that mantle rocks still contain helium. As science advances, evidence for a young earth evaporates while support for the biblically anticipated cosmic creation model becomes stronger.
- Cornelia Class and Steven L. Goldstein, “Evolution of Helium Isotopes in the Earth’s Mantle,” Nature 436 (2005): 1107-12.
- https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v436/n7054/abs/nature03930.html%20
- Related Resource
- Roger C. Wiens, “The Dynamics of Dating”
- Product Spotlight
- The Creator and the Cosmos, 3rd ed., by Hugh Ross