Cherenkov radiation was first observed by Marie and Pierre Currie in the early part of the 20th century. The effect was named after Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, who won the 1958 Nobel Prize for being the first to rigorously characterize it. Cherenkov radiation is observed in nuclear reactors when fission products decay and produce high-energy β particles. The β particle velocities exceed the speed of light in the given medium, producing blue Cherenkov radiation. As you can see this radiation is visible to the naked eye and has a cool blue hue to it.
The effect seen in these images just seems to be screaming to be used in sci fi applications. Granted the cliche glow has already been used everywhere, but I think with the right applications this would create a pretty nice atmosphere... could even be used to lighten up a normally grungy/industrial reactor room of a spaceship or something if clear conduits where selectively used in places.
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