When high velocity particles travel faster than the speed of light in a medium they create a blue flash. This is called Cerenkov Radiation, why does this happen and why is it blue?
Asked by: Dan
Answer
Historically, Cerenkov radiation was discovered by Pavel Cerenkov in 1934, while he was studying the effects of
radioactive substances on liquids. He noticed that water surrounding certain radioactive substances emitted a
faint blue glow, which is now termed Cerenkov radiation.
Cerenkov radiation in the core of the nuclear reactor Submitted by Charles Bell (who works at the plant.)
This radiation, as you pointed out, comes from
particles travelling at a speed greater than the speed of light in the medium in which they are moving. The
explanation we have adopted for Cerenkov radiation was first given by Tamm and Franc.
To clarify your question a little, only electrically charged particles emit Cerenkov radiation. The reason
they emit Cerenkov radiation can be explained using the more intuitive example of the sonic boom. Normally,
when an airplane travels through the air, the wings push the air in front of it out of the way. However, the
signal for air to move out of the wing's way can only travel at the speed of sound (in air). So if the
airplane is travelling faster than the speed of sound, the air cannot move out of the way. This creates a
sudden, intense pressure drop that moves away from the wing at the speed of sound, just like the wake behind a
boat. It is the sound created by the pressure change that we hear after the airplane has passed over our
heads.
Cerenkov radiation in the core of the McMaster University researcah nuclear reactor Submitted by Anton Skorucak, creator of PhysLink.com (who used to work there.)
With this example in mind, let's get back to electrically charged particles... Electrically charged particles
have electric fields around them as a result of their charge. When such a charged particle is moving, the
electrical field moves along with the particle. However, since the electrical field is carried by photons, it
can only travel at the speed of light. If the particle is travelling faster than the speed of light in a
certain medium (such as water), then it, in a sense, out-runs its electrical field. This electrical field that
is left behind forms a shock front, much like our earlier example with sound. But, this shock front manifests
itself in the form of light, not sound.
As to why this light is blue, there are basically two reasons. In water, the blue light comes from excited
atoms that emit blue light. The atoms in the water become excited by the Cerenkov shock wave and then
de-excite, emitting blue light. But, another reason is that the number of photons emitted by such a charged
particle is inversely proportional to wavelength. This means that more photons are emitted with shorter
wavelengths, thereby tilting the spectrum to the blue side.
Answered by: Andreas Birkedal-Hansen, M.A., Physics Grad Student, UC Berkeley
'After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well.'