Cherenkov radiation permeability and formula_16 is the index of refraction of the material the charge particle moves through. Unlike fluorescence or emission spectra that have characteristic spectral peaks, Cherenkov radiation is continuous. Around the visible spectrum, the relative intensity per unit frequency is approximately proportional to the frequency. That is, higher frequencies (shorter wavelengths) are more intense in Cherenkov radiation. This is why visible Cherenkov radiation is observed to be brilliant blue. In fact, most Cherenkov radiation is in the ultraviolet spectrum—it is only with sufficiently accelerated charges that it even becomes visible; the sensitivity of the human eye peaks at green,
Refraction of incidence "θ" and angle of refraction "θ" is equal to the ratio of phase velocities ("v" / "v") in the two media, or equivalently, to the indices of refraction ("n" / "n") of the two media. Optical prisms and lenses utilize refraction to redirect light, as does the human eye. The refractive index of materials varies with the wavelength of light, and thus the angle of the refraction also varies correspondingly. This is called dispersion and causes prisms and rainbows to divide white light into its constituent spectral colors. Consider a wave going from one material to another where