Inspiration and philosophy

The idea

A neutrino is almost never seen directly, because it passes through ordinary matter almost every time. What a detector records is the flash of light the neutrino leaves on the rare occasion it does interact, and that flash is enough to trace it back to where it came from. We borrow that picture. The reasoning behind a hard problem is usually hidden, and easy to read past without noticing it was there. A visualization is the flash: the point where that reasoning becomes something you can see and follow.

The name

Cherenkov radiation is the pale blue glow produced when a charged particle travels through a transparent medium, such as water, faster than light travels in that medium. Neutrino detectors rely on this kind of light, which is why it suits the idea above.

"Project Cherenkov" is our full public name, and the one we use on our social accounts. "Cherenkov" is an accepted short form.

The tagline and the motto

Our tagline, "From Curiosity to Visualization", is the promise to the reader, in plain language. Its two key words are not arbitrary: the C of Curiosity and the V of Visualization are the first and last letters of Cherenkov.

Our motto, "Cognitio · Humanitas · Exploratio", is the credo, in Latin: it says what we believe and what we are made of. Cognitio is inquiry, the curiosity end. Humanitas is the learner in the middle, the reason any of it matters. Exploratio is the visualization end, where exploration becomes visible. The motto stays in Latin in both interface languages.

The colours

Blue and white are literal to the phenomenon we are named after: the pale blue-white glow of Cherenkov radiation. Pink is our secondary trait: approachable and a little playful, so the project reads as inviting rather than intimidating. It softens the rigour without diluting it.

The three colours are also intentionally inspired by the trans flag, as a homage. Trans people have historically been rendered invisible or erased, and our central theme is making what is hidden visible. In our own work that means ideas whose mechanism cannot be seen until they are drawn. The palette is a reminder that the same wish applies to people.

Open knowledge

The "Che" in the motto (the initials of its three words) is a homage to Che Guevara. For us he stands for one idea: he was a doctor, so he had a strong academic path, and he chose to take part in the struggle against imperialism, which we read as caring about people. What we take from that is a stance rather than a biography: expertise is worth using for other people. The homage is to that stance, not an endorsement of everything associated with his name.

We are open source and educational. We do not want to keep knowledge behind paywalls, and you can read everything public here without an account.

The companion

Neutrino, our study companion, is named after the particle in the first section: something that is rarely noticed directly and is recognised by what it leaves behind. See the Neutrino guide.