Particle Detectors Based on Glass: Toward the Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers

Glass found a large application in particle physics, and it can be considered as a key turning point in the technology of gaseous detectors, in particular in the development that lead from parallel plate chambers to resistive plate chambers and multigap resistive plate chambers (MRPCs). One of the crucial parameters to take into account when building such a detector is the resistivity of the material used to collect the signal produced by a particle crossing the detector. In this paper a (not comprehensive) history of the gaseous detectors will be presented, in order to describe the use of glass in the MRPC, including a few examples of experiments making use of this technology.