Cherenkov radiation
체렌코프 복사
Cherenkov radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle passes through a dielectric medium at a speed greater than the phase velocity of light in that medium (first observed by Pavel Cherenkov in 1934 at the Lebedev Physical Institute as a blue glow around radioactive solutions). Igor Tamm and Ilya Frank provided the theoretical explanation in 1937 using special relativity, and the three shared the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery. Cherenkov detectors became standard instrumentation in high-energy particle physics and cosmic-ray research, and were deployed aboard Sputnik 3.
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Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) Wikipedia: physical mechanism, discovery history at Lebedev Institute in 1934 under Vavilov, 1937 theoretical explanation by Tamm and Frank, 1958 Nobel Prize, Cherenkov detector applications
- ebsco.com EBSCO Research Starters (Flynn, 2021): detailed experimental history including Cherenkov's 1934 radium-in-water experiments, Vavilov's initial bremsstrahlung hypothesis, Frank-Tamm 1937 theory, and later verification
- nobelprize.org Nobel Prize official site: prize motivation for discovery and interpretation of the Cherenkov effect, shared among Cherenkov, Frank, and Tamm