Can particles move faster than light? Nobel Prize employee Olof is here to explain more about how that's possible in Cherenkov radiation - the discovery that received the 1958 physics prize Learn more about this effect: https://bit.ly/3X4uIdB Reactor Video Credits: Sandia National Laboratories; IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication | Nobel Prize

What’s that blue glow surrounding a reactor? It’s a phenomenon known as Cherenkov Radiation when electrically charged particles, such as protons or electrons, travel faster than light in a clear medium like water. | U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy

We are often taught that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. This is true in a vacuum (like space). The universal speed limit, c, is unbreakable. But in a material like water, light actually slows down. In water, light travels at about 75% of its vacuum speed. This creates a loophole for high-energy particles. In nuclear reactors, subatomic particles (like electrons) are often ejected at speeds that are incredibly fast—faster than the speed of light *in water* (though still slower