The best scientific explanation would be that it was in the eye. In water (aqueous humor) the flash would require slower particles than in air.
I wouldn't have thought that the difference in the phase velocity of light in air at s.t.p. as compared with in a vacuum would suffice [post-editing: i.e., would be GREAT ENOUGH] for the charged particles released by such an accidental event to create a noticeable amount of Čerenkov radiation.
HiTech RedNeck:
The best scientific explanation would be that it was in the eye. In water (aqueous humor) the flash would require slower particles than in air.
That's the best explanation I've heard yet: That the "blue flash" occurred in the aqueous and vitreous humors of the eye, itself. (But then, the question is: What charged particles could have had the penetrating power to traverse the room and enter the eye, where they then proceeded to produce Cherenkov radiation? In space, astronauts need only close their eyes to perceive the Cherenkov radiation produced by PRIMARY COSMIC RAYS [chiefly high-energy protons] in their eyeballs).
Regards,