Cherenkov Radiation

Nikhil Shukla

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Cherenkov radiation, named for Soviet Scientist Pavel A. Cherenkov, is a fascinating phenomena that occurs when charges move faster than light through an optically transparent medium. One commonly recognized example of Cherenkov radiation is in nuclear reactors which have a characteristic blue glow as a result [1].

The Main Idea

The blue radiation in nuclear reactors occurs when electrons from the reactor travel at speeds greater than light in the water, a dielectric medium, surrounding the reactor. The particles are able to move faster than light in a medium depending on the refractive index and the refractive index of water is about 1.3 [2]. The emitted charged and highly energetic particles then polarize atoms in the dielectric medium; as the electrons return to their ground states, they emit a weak blue light. The blue light occurs only when the velocity of the initial particle is greater than the velocity of light in the medium through constructive interference. If the velocity of the particle is less than the velocity of light in the medium, any light is destroyed by destructive interference [3].

Electric Field of Capacitor

A Mathematical Model

For Cherenkov radiation to occur, the minimum threshold energy for an electron to radiate in water is 260keV. In addition, only high-energy nuclei with a charge greater than or equal to six are capable of producing Cherenkov light [4].

To check if the speed of the particle is greater than the speed of light in a medium v_light_=c/n

A Computational Model

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Cherenkov radiation is now used in a Cherenkov counter to detect energetic particles [5].

History

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The phenomena was initially discovered by Mallet in 1929. However, the radiation was studied by Soviet physicist Pavel A. Cherenkov from 1934-1938. It was later explained by Ilya M. Frank and Igor Y. Tamm in 1937. [6]

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References

http://www.britannica.com/science/Cherenkov-radiation http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/C/Cerenkov_radiation.html http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SpeedOfLight/cherenkov.html