cherenkov radiation?
In: Physics
I’m going to try.
Drag your hand across some water quickly. You will see the ripples from it are in a cone pointing the direction of where your hand is going. By the time the ripple reaches someone your hand is no longer where it was when it created that ripple. If it’s fast enough the water turns into a splash. You are hitting it faster than the speed of water. Faster than it can get out if the way.
When a jet flies really fast it produces a cone of sound. But once it reaches the speed of sound the air can’t get out of the way fast enough and it creates a sonic boom.
A radioactive material gives off charged particles like electrons and they fly away very fast. Typically slower than the speed of light. But, light travels more slowly in something like water. It slows the light enough that when the particle goes through the water it excites other particles and gives them enough energy to glow. Sensors can see the cone like the ripples in the water and see how fast it is and what direction it is going.
Check out this podcast episode.
https://player.fm/series/daniel-and-jorge-explain-the-universe-2445537/can-you-slow-down-light
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