A fast priority encoder system for use with multiwire detectors at synchrotron radiation sources

The design concepts and practical implementation of a fast priority encoder system are described. The system is thought for use with a multiwire proportional gas chamber on those experiments where one is dealing with scattering patterns which have circular symmetry (solutions or gels) or contain the information required along one line in reciprocal space (fibres). The same approach can be expanded into a two-dimensional system. (orig.)