Cherenkov
- noun
- /tʃəˈrɛŋkɒf/
- Specialized
- The faint blue light, known as Cherenkov radiation, is often observed in nuclear reactors when charged particles exceed the speed of light in water.
Examples
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This was my first time seeing real nuclear waste and my first time seeing the infamous Cherenkov radiation with my own eyes.
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If that blue glow was actually Cherenkov radiation, like you'd have in a normal nuclear reactor, I would be dead.
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Researchers were excited to capture images of Cherenkov radiation emanating from the reactor core during the experiment.
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In the dark water of the pool, the scientists noticed the distinctive Cherenkov glow that indicated high-energy particles were present.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A blue light that appears when a charged particle moves faster than light in a medium like water
How Bright
Surface Forms
Etymology
Cherenkov comes from the name of the Russian physicist Pavel Cherenkov, who first saw a faint blue glow when very fast particles moved through water. So a Cherenkov is that 'blue light' made by charged particles moving faster than light does in a material.