Real time compensation of the path spread in large time-of-flight systems

The operating principle of an electric system able to compensate in real time the differences in time-of-flight due to the path-length spread occurring in large devices with pointlike geometries is described. Experimental tests with a particle beam have provided very good results, opening the possibility of triggering with very long scintillators with time resolutions of the order of 1 ns. It is concluded the system completely fills the requirements of the OBELIX experiment, extending the range of pi /k separation from approximately=300 to approximately=600 MeV/c. >