An illustration of the Cherenkov effect.
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Radiation
If you are sitting in the dentist's chair and they decide to X-ray your teeth, they put a big shield over you for protection. Why? Because they need to shield you from 'radiation'.
Radiation comes in many forms. Radiation is another term for light, as in "ultraviolet radiation". Visible light, infrared, and X-rays are all other names for radiation at specific wavelengths. Radiation is also generated by charged particles, especially when they are moving very fast.
One place in nature where electrons (one of the charged particles that make up an
atom) can move very fast is inside a planet's magnetosphere.
Earth,
Jupiter, and even the little moon
Ganymede, all are surrounded by belts of radiation called 'radiation belts'.
Radiation can kill you. Radiation can also
damage electronic hardware. The main reason radiation is harmful is that it causes little defects in material, from human skin to metals, and causes matter to break down. Radiation can also do good things, though, such as helping doctors to image your body and determine what if something is wrong. Radiation can even cause
new molecules to form on the surface of Europa.
A special kind of radiation, called
Cherenkov radiation is illustrated in this drawing.
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