Liquid ionization detectors: the UA-1 collaboration

Summary form only given. Ionization chambers filled with liquefied noble gas have been commonly used as particle detectors. Recent research on warm liquids has made possible the construction of a large-scale calorimeter at CERN, filled with tetramethylpentane. For continuously sensitive detectors used in cosmic-ray physics, ultrahigh purity of the liquid is required to allow the electrons to travel over large distances without being trapped by impurities. Electron lifetimes of a few milliseconds have been reached in cryogenic liquids, and lifetimes of a few hundred microseconds have been obtained in warm liquids to assure good performance of the calorimeter.<<ETX>>