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Sonic boom doesn't explain what causes sound only how it piles up. Similarily I don't see how it explains the glow. Photons get generated regardless of whether
by scotty79 5d ago
Sonic boom doesn't explain what causes sound only how it piles up.
Similarily I don't see how it explains the glow. Photons get generated regardless of whether they pile up or not. It's a consequence of particles bumping into atoms not the whatever speed of light might be in this medium.
How is piling up important?
- maxnoe 5d agoVery shortly summarized, only if the particle is faster than the local speed of light, you get constructive interference between many atoms that were polarized by the moving particle. For a slower than light particle, you also get emission, but it is completely random and thus does not give the well defined emission in a cone of Cherenkov radiation. For a faster than light particle, the spherical suddenly line up to form a cone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation#/media/File:Cherenkov_radiation-animation.gif https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation#/media/Fil...
- scotty79 5d agoThank you. That's a very good explanation.