C0275125 (chə-rĕng′kôf, -kəf) also Če·ren·kov effect(chə-rĕng′kôf, -kəf)n. The emission of light by a charged particle passing through a transparent nonconducting liquid or solid material at a speed greater than the speed of light in that material.[After Pavel Alekseevich Cherenkov (1904-1990), Russian physicist.]