Acoustic spark chamber

Claim 1

IN A CHARGED PARTICLE SENSITIVE INSTRUMENT OF THE CLASS HAVING A PLURALITY OF ELECTRICALLY CHARGED PLATES SPACED APART WITHIN A GAS FILLED CHAMBER TO FORM A SERIES OF SPARK GAPS AND HAVING A DETECTOR INDICATING THE PASSAGE OF A CHARGED PARTICLE THERETHROUGH, A MEANS FOR ELECTRONICALLY DETECTING THE LOCATION OF CHARGED PARTICLE PATHS THROUGH SAID CHAMBER COMPRISING: (A) A PLURALITY OF SONIC WAVE GUIDES WITH AT LEAST TWO THEREOF EXTENDING INTO EACH SPARK GAP OF SAID CHAMBER AT SPACED APART POSITIONS IN SAID GAP, SAID WAVE GUIDES BEING RESPONSIVE TO SHOCK WAVES EMANATING FROM SPARKS THEREIN, (B) A LIKE PLURALITY OF ACOUSTICAL-ELECTRICAL TRANSDUCER ELEMENTS OF THE PIEZOELECTRIC CLASS EACH BEING DISPOSED AT THE END OF A SEPARATE ONE OF SAID WAVE GUIDES AND PRODUCING AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL IN RESPONSE TO PRESSURE EXERTED THEREON BY SAID WAVE GUIDE, (C) A LIKE PLURALITY OF BI-STABLE MULTIVIBRATORS EACH RECEIVING THE SIGNAL FROM SAID DETECTOR AT A FIRST INPUT THEREOF AND EACH HAVING A SECOND INPUT COUPLED TO THE OUTPUT OF A SEPARATE ONE OF SAID TRANSDUCERS, SAID MULTIVIBRATORS PRODUCING AN OUTPUT SIGNAL DURING THE INTERVAL BETWEEN SAID DETECTOR SIGNAL AND SAID TRANSDUCER SIGNAL, (D) AN OSCILLATOR, (E) A PLURALITY OF COINCIDENCE GATES EACH HAVING A FIRST INPUT CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUT OF A SEPARATE ONE OF SAID MULTIVIBRATORS AND HAVING A SECOND INPUT COUPLED TO SAID OSCILLATOR, SAID GATES TRANSMITTING SAID OSCILLATOR PULSES DURING THE INPUT COINCIDENCE OF SAID MULTIVIBRATOR SIGNAL THEREWITH, (F) A LIKE PLURALITY OF SCALERS EACH COUPLED TO THE OUTPUT OF A SEPARATE ONE OF SAID COINCIDENCE GATES AND COUNTING THE OSCILLATOR PULSES THEREFROM, WHICH COUNTS CORRESPOND TO THE ACOUSTIC TIME DELAYS BETWEEN THE SPARK OF THE PARTICLE PATH IN A GAP AND THE SONIC WAVE ARRIVAL AT THE POSITIONS OF THE WAVE GUIDES DISPOSED THEREIN, AND (G) A RECORDING MEANS HAVING A PLURALITY OF INPUTS SEPARATELY COUPLED TO SAID SCALERS AND RECEIVING SAID COUNTS THEREFROM.