Abstract
The paper opens with a brief review of the original discovery of the radiation and the physical principles of the process that gives rise to it. This is followed by an elementary account of the theory of the effect. A general survey of the practical applications to cosmic-ray and high-energy physics is then presented, with two examples of modern detectors discussed in greater detail.
The article concludes with an account of recent experiments carried out on light pulses from the night-sky associated with cosmic-ray showers, found to be due to Cerenkov radiation in the atmosphere.