Contains mild spoilers
Netflix's newest sci-fi drama 3 Body Problem has finally arrived, taking us from 1960s China, to present day London, to potentially the future in a weird AI game. The eight-part series is full of intrigue, some confusion, and leaves us with a lot of questions, our first being what the hell is a Cherenkov tank?
The series is based on a series of novels of the same name by Liu Cixin, and focuses on a group of scientists and a detective, who try and figure out what is going on with a string of scientists suicides, that may or may not have something to do with a catastrophic decision one scientist made in 1960s China.
In the first episode scientist Vera Ye dies after she jumps into a Cherenkov tank, and her death is the catalyst that brings together many of the main characters known as the 'Oxford Five' for her funeral. Following her funeral things get very weird for the group.
However, before we dissect the rest of the series, we need to have some greater understanding of what a Cherenkov tank is. And if you didn't pay attention in science lessons either, then here's what a Cherenkov tank is.
Netflix
What is a Cherenkov tank?
Early on in episode one of 3 Body Problem, we see Vera (Vedette Lim) talking to Saul (Jovan Adepo) about shutting down operations and asking him if he believes in God. After he says he doesn't, Vera leaves Saul and heads to the Cherenkov tank, where she opens the gate and jumps into the water below, dying instantly.
A Cherenkov tank is a way to conduct Cherenkov radiation. According to Imperial College London, "Cherenkov radiation (the familiar glow around radioactive materials in films) is emitted when a particle travels faster than the speed light will travel in a particular medium."
A number of Cherenkov tanks were used at the HAWC Observatory to, "To record the particles created in cosmic-ray and gamma-ray air showers, the HAWC detector uses the water Cherenkov method. In this technique, the detector is used to sample air-shower particles at ground level by recording the Cherenkov light produced when the particles pass through pass through tanks full of purified water."
While they used multiple tanks, their tank was four metres high and 7.3 metres in diameter, which seems a lot smaller than just the one which appears in 3 Body Problem.
3 Body Problem is available on Netflix now
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Lydia VennSenior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer
Lydia Venn is Cosmopolitan UK’s Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer. She covers everything from , to the latest celebrity news. She also writes across our work/life section regularly creating , covering exciting new releases and sharing the latest must-haves. In her role she’s interviewed everyone from Margot Robbie to Niall Horan, and her work has appeared on an episode of . After completing a degree in English at the University of Exeter, Lydia moved into journalism, writing for the , before working as Features Editor at , where she spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Talk Radio. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of Gilmore Girls and 00s teen movies, and in her free time can be found with a margarita in hand watching the Real Housewives on repeat. Find her on .
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