Cherenkov Radiation

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A toy model of Cherenkov Radiation using Python and Matplotlib. It was made for illustration of the electrodynamical physics involved only, and is not meant to be a rigorous simulation of Cherenkov Radiation.

Introduction

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. The charged particles polarize the molecules of that medium, creating a shockwave of electromagnetic radiation.

The characteristic blue glow of underwater nuclear reactors is due to Cherenkov radiation. It is named after Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, a Soviet scientist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1958.

Theory

Please see the explanation notebook with the thory behind the code here: Theory

Code

To run the code, please install this package using pip:

git clone https://github.com/munozariasjm/cherenkov_radiation_toy.git
cd cherenkov_radiation_toy
pip install .

Then, you can run the code using the correct kernel in the other notebooks.

Author

• Jose M Munoz Arias