Terms starting with C

All the passive fiber infrastructure of a network: cable, splices, connectors, panels and closures.

Shop name for an exothermic weld, the thermite connection used to attach CP cables to pipe and anodes. Shop talk

Spring-steel fastener that snaps onto studs, rod, wire or beam flanges to hold boxes, conduit and cable. Shop talk

Conductive anodic filament: copper growth along glass fibers inside a board that shorts holes under voltage.

Shop shorthand for a recess resisting powder because of Faraday cage effect. Shop talk

A slotted or drilled sleeve around a control valve plug that guides it and shapes how flow changes with travel.

The date by which an instrument must be calibrated again, printed on its sticker and tracked by the recall system. Shop talk

The label on a calibrated instrument showing who calibrated it, when, and when the next calibration is due. Shop talk

Lab shorthand for the white or colored ceramic tile used to check or standardize an instrument each shift. Shop talk

A calibration ordered with full measured readings and uncertainties on the certificate, not just a pass or fail. Shop talk

Hydraulic cement that binds most refractory castables, sold in grades of roughly 40 to 80 percent alumina.

Grease thickener based on overbased calcium sulfonate, known for water resistance and built-in EP protection.

Stack of hard rolls that presses a paper web to make it smoother, glossier and more even in thickness.

Dark, translucent spots or streaks produced when calendering crushes a sheet that is too wet or under too much nip load.

Thermal bonding in a heated roll nip, either across the whole surface or at points set by an engraved roll.

Reference leak with a certified helium flow, used to calibrate and check a leak detector's readings.

Comparing an instrument with a better-known standard and recording how its readings line up with the standard's values.

The document reporting a calibration's results, uncertainties, conditions and traceability for one specific item.

The ranked levels of standards, from primary realizations down to working instruments, through which values flow.

The scheduled time between calibrations of an instrument, set to keep the chance of drifting out of tolerance low.

Thickness of a single sheet of paper, measured under a set pressure and given in micrometers or thousandths of an inch.

The notice telling a crew member when and where to report for duty. Shop talk

The driver bit climbing out of a screw recess under torque, chewing up the recess and wearing the bit.

Working life of a furnace or lining between relines, counted in heats, tonnes, days or years.

Outside plant slang for a splice closure, especially a cylindrical dome closure on a pole or in a vault. Shop talk

The unit for how much light a source throws in one direction, and the SI base unit behind lumens and lux.

A tinted transparent topcoat sprayed over a bright base so the color glows with metallic depth. Shop talk

Crew name for the steam-heated cast iron cylinders in the dryer section of a paper machine. Shop talk

Final cover system placed over a closed landfill or waste area to keep water out and control gas.

Short for capacitor, the part that gives compressor and fan motors the phase shift they need to start and run. Shop talk

Shop word for the final layer of passes on the face of a groove weld, the cover pass in code language. Shop talk

A sealant bead on the outside face of the glass where it meets the stop or frame, sealing the glazing pocket from rain.

A precision-headed screw, hex or socket, made to close tolerances and usually driven into a tapped hole.

Diaphragm gauge that reads true pressure, regardless of gas type, from the capacitance of a flexing diaphragm.

A carman, the mechanical worker who inspects and repairs railcars and tests their brakes. Shop talk

A numbered tamper seal fixed to a valve handle so it cannot be moved without visibly breaking the seal.

Any hard compound of carbon with iron or alloying elements such as chromium, vanadium, molybdenum or tungsten.

Shop shorthand for a carbide coating, usually tungsten carbide, as in putting carbide on a part. Shop talk

Fine black pigment blended into polyethylene geosynthetics, usually at 2 to 3 percent, to block ultraviolet damage.

Breakdown of refractory as carbon deposits from CO gas grow inside its pores around iron oxide spots.

The carbon content a furnace atmosphere would give the surface of plain steel at equilibrium.

Adding both carbon and nitrogen to a steel surface at a lower heat than carburizing, then quenching.

A heat treatment that diffuses carbon into the surface of low-carbon steel gears, then quenches for a hard case.

Diffusing carbon into the surface of low-carbon steel at high heat, then quenching for a hard case.

Combing staple fibers between wire-covered rolls to open them and form an even, mostly parallel web.

The film, foam, paper or fabric layer inside a tape that the adhesive is coated onto.

Water-soluble polymer such as PVOH that boosts optical brightener efficiency in coatings and size-press starch.

The gas stream, usually argon, that carries powder from the feeder through the hose into the spray jet.

Boiler water and the solids dissolved in it leaving with the steam instead of staying in the boiler.

The hardened outer layer of a case-hardened part, as opposed to its softer, tougher core.

How deep the hardened surface layer of a gear tooth goes, usually measured to a set hardness such as 50 HRC.

Thickness of a hardened surface layer, measured from the surface to a specified hardness or structure.

One lowering of a sound speed or CTD probe through the water column to measure a profile. Shop talk

A boiler built from cast iron sections joined in a row, used widely for residential and commercial heating.

Dry refractory mix of aggregate, fines and binder that is mixed with water and poured or pumped like concrete.

A slotted nut with notches across its crown that take a cotter pin through a hole drilled in the bolt.

Electrode where reduction happens and current is collected, so the metal there does not corrode.

Loss of coating adhesion around a holiday caused by the alkali and hydrogen that cathodic protection generates.

Shielding buried or submerged steel from corrosion with DC current from sacrificial anodes or a rectifier.

Crooked, askew, out of square or not lined up, said of parts, setups and buildings alike. Shop talk

Category of zone of confidence: the ENC quality code that tells mariners how far to trust the depth data.

Everyday word for any gun-applied gap filler; in the trade, a lower-movement material than a true sealant. Shop talk

Vapor bubbles forming and then collapsing in a liquid passing through a valve, causing noise, vibration and pitting.

Puncture test in which a 50 mm plunger is pushed through a clamped geosynthetic, simulating a stone pressing into it.

Cold crushing strength: the room-temperature compressive strength of a refractory, in MPa or psi.

Correlated Color Temperature: the warm-to-cool appearance of white light, stated in kelvin.

Continuous-cooling-transformation chart predicting which structures form as steel cools at various steady rates.

Cross direction: the direction across the width of a nonwoven roll, at right angles to machine travel.

Core damage frequency: the estimated likelihood per reactor-year of an accident that damages the core.

Iron carbide, Fe3C: the hard, brittle compound that carries most of the carbon in slowly cooled steel.

Incomplete life data where a unit's exact failure time is unknown because the test ended or the unit was removed first.

The distance between the axes of two meshing gear shafts, set by the housing bores.

Run with every numeric factor set halfway between its low and high levels, used to detect curvature and estimate error.

A narrow strip of coarse, open mix running down the middle of the mat behind the paver's auger gearbox. Shop talk

Result that averages of many independent values tend toward a normal distribution even when the values themselves are not normal.

File listing the X-Y position, rotation and side of every surface mount part for the pick-and-place machine.

Wool-like high-temperature insulation spun from molten alumina-silica, sold as blanket, modules, board and paper.

Shop word for the certificate of heat treatment that states what was done to a lot and the results. Shop talk

Shop word for a welder's qualification, or the test taken to earn it, as in a 6G cert. Shop talk

All-metal flange that seals by biting knife edges into a soft copper gasket, the standard joint for UHV.

Cubic feet per minute: the standard unit of airflow through equipment, ducts and outlets.

A wire or plastic stand that holds rebar or mesh at the right height inside the form.

Powdery residue on an aging coating surface as sunlight breaks down the binder.

A powdery residue on a weathered finish where sunlight has broken down the resin at the surface.

The preshow routine of bringing up each lighting channel in turn to confirm every fixture works and is aimed correctly. Shop talk

Grease pushed aside by rolling elements so it sits in shoulders beside the track instead of churning.

Tongue-and-groove adjustable pliers, named after the brand that made them a trade staple. Shop talk

Dark, degraded hot melt that builds up in tanks and hoses from long time at temperature. Shop talk

One batch of parts loaded into a furnace together, or the act of loading it.

The low-water level from which charted depths are measured, set so actual depth is seldom much less than shown.

The low-water zero that charted depths and tide table heights are measured from.

To run a tap, die or thread chaser through an existing thread to clean and reform it without cutting it oversize. Shop talk

To hunt down a leak of unknown location joint by joint, often over hours, until the source is pinned down. Shop talk

Short threaded fitting with a flat collar that joins two boxes or enclosures through their knockouts.

Making repeated dye or brightener adjustments to pull the paper's color back onto target after an upset. Shop talk

Shop phrase for adjusting a process after each reading to pull it back to target, which only adds variation. Shop talk

Rapid repeated opening and closing of relay or contactor contacts, usually from marginal voltage or vibration. Shop talk

Self-sustaining vibration between tool and work that screams, leaves a wavy pattern and kills tools.

Rapid, violent opening and closing of a relief or check valve that hammers the disc against the seat.

Anything that beats a built-in limit: pipe over a wrench handle, a three-to-two plug adapter or a tandem breaker. Shop talk

A length of pipe slipped over a wrench handle for extra leverage on a stuck fastener. Shop talk

A length of pipe slipped over a wrench or valve handle to gain extra leverage on something stuck. Shop talk

A stable item measured regularly to confirm a measurement process still behaves as it did when characterized.

A self-acting valve that lets fluid pass in one direction and closes on its own when flow tries to reverse.

Brick laid in an open lattice inside a regenerator or hot blast stove to store and return heat.

Short, closely spaced hairline cracks across the mat that open up under the rollers during compaction.

Bonding a web with a liquid binder, usually a latex, that is applied, dried and cured to glue the fibers together.

Boom lift or bucket truck that raises a worker on an arm to reach high fixtures, poles and ceilings. Shop talk

Color name for steel glowing at roughly 750 to 800 °C, near where most hardening heats begin. Shop talk

Spring-jawed come-along grips that bite on a wire or cable so it can be pulled tight with a hoist. Shop talk

Sealing compound poured into conduit seal fittings to block gas and flame in hazardous locations. Shop talk

A refrigeration machine that cools water or glycol, which is then pumped to coils to cool a building or process.

The thickness of material each cutting edge takes per revolution, also called feed per tooth.

Shop word for the polymer pellets fed to spunbond, meltblown and fiber extrusion lines. Shop talk

A change in instantaneous frequency across a pulse, so its colors arrive spread out in time.

To run, work or go properly, as in does it chooch; as a noun, the power or oomph a machine has. Shop talk

Pulse spreading caused by different wavelengths in a light source traveling at slightly different speeds in fiber.

The change of refractive index with wavelength, which separates colors in prisms and spreads pulses in time.

Where a light's color sits on a color map once brightness is set aside, given as coordinates such as x, y or u', v'.

The horseshoe-shaped chart that maps every visible color by its chromaticity coordinates.

Plasma-sprayed chromium oxide, a hard, dense ceramic for wear parts and polished sealing surfaces.

Cr3C2 carbide held in a nickel-chromium binder, a wear coating that keeps working at high temperatures.

The T-handle wrench that opens and closes a geared drill chuck or lathe chuck, never left in the chuck.

Formula-based whiteness index computed from luminance factor Y and chromaticity, under D65 or C illumination.

Color space describing a color by lightness L* plus a* for red-green and b* for yellow-blue.

The arc distance from one tooth to the same point on the next tooth, measured along the pitch circle.

Close interval survey: potential readings taken every metre or so along a pipeline to find protection gaps.

Complete joint penetration: a groove weld that fuses through the full thickness of the joint.

The layer of slightly lower-index glass around the core that keeps light trapped inside it.

The compressive force a tightened fastener puts on the joint members, holding them together in service.

Handheld meter whose jaws close around a conductor to measure current without breaking the circuit.

Worn out from long hard use, still running but loose, sloppy and well past its best. Shop talk

The tightest standard inch thread fit, with no allowance on the external thread, used for precision hardware.

The highest laser hazard class, for beams that can injure eyes and skin even by diffuse reflection and can start fires.

Reviewing survey data to reject spikes, noise and false bottoms before building final products. Shop talk

Straight-line air gap between two conductive parts, the dimension that decides whether a surge can flash across.

The release of materials with very low radioactivity from regulatory control, so they can be reused or disposed of normally.

Minimum spacing between copper features of different nets, or between copper and the board edge or holes.

Loading that pries a rigid joint open from one end, concentrating stress along the leading edge of the bond.

To break a stripped fiber in a controlled way so its end is flat, mirror-smooth and square to the axis.

How far a cleaved fiber end deviates from a perfect right angle to the fiber axis, in degrees.

A pen-shaped one-click connector cleaner that wipes a fresh strip of cleaning tape across the end face. Shop talk

Shop name for an adjustable torque wrench that clicks and briefly gives way when the set torque is reached. Shop talk

Milling with the cutter rotating in the same direction as the feed, so each chip starts thick and ends thin.

Shop dig at a manager, auditor or inspector who walks the floor with paperwork but never runs the tools. Shop talk

A beam partly cut off by an aperture, mount or edge, causing power loss, diffraction rings and hot spots. Shop talk

Gradual loss of flow through a geotextile as soil particles or deposits lodge inside its pores.

Ironic shop saying that a result is good enough to pass, even if it would not satisfy a careful craftsman. Shop talk

The shortest threaded nipple made, threaded along its whole length with no plain section in the middle. Shop talk

Brick cut to size to fill the last gap in a course, ring or wall. Shop talk

Finishing a level run back on the starting bench mark to measure how much error crept in. Shop talk

Controlled low-strength material, the soupy flowable fill poured into trenches and voids instead of compacted soil.

A single heavy knock when a drive takes up its backlash on a load reversal, such as on and off the throttle. Shop talk

Calibration and measurement capability, the best uncertainty a lab can routinely deliver for a given calibration.

Mass of dry coating applied to paper per unit area, usually stated per side in grams per square meter.

Layer of clinker that sticks to the burning zone brick in a cement kiln and shields it from heat and wear.

Chip-on-Board: an LED array with many dies mounted closely under one phosphor layer, acting as a single compact source.

A welder qualified to make welds under a governing code, such as pressure vessel, piping or structural work. Shop talk

Ratio of the force resisting sliding to the normal load pressing two surfaces together.

Composite web made by blowing wood pulp fibers into a meltblown fiber stream as it forms.

The path difference over which a light source keeps a fixed phase relationship and can still form interference fringes.

A break that runs through the adhesive itself, leaving adhesive on both parts.

A bond test break inside the coating, with coating left on both halves of the test specimen.

A sealant tearing apart within itself while staying stuck to both joint faces.

Crushed carbon backfill packed around impressed-current anodes to lower resistance and extend anode life.

Ionization gauge with no filament that uses a magnetically trapped discharge to read high vacuum pressure.

Slow flow of a soft adhesive at room temperature under its own weight or light pressure.

Forming bolt and screw heads from wire at room temperature by striking it in dies at high production rates.

An unplanned seam left where fresh concrete was placed against concrete that had already begun to set.

Solder joint that never got hot enough to flow and wet properly, leaving a dull, grainy and unreliable bond.

The seam where one concrete pour meets a later one, a classic leak path in below-grade walls and slabs.

Shop term for weld metal that rolls over onto the base metal or a previous bead without fusing to it. Shop talk

A truckload of mix that arrives below the minimum temperature or with cold, crusted chunks. Shop talk

Process that fires solid metal powder at supersonic speed so it bonds by impact rather than melting.

Chilled surface in a pumping line that freezes out water and oil vapour before it reaches the chamber or the pump.

Placing and protecting concrete when air temperatures are at or expected to drop below 40 F.

The sum of individual doses received by a group of people, in person-sievert or person-rem.

A slotted, tapered sleeve that squeezes evenly around a tool shank or bar stock to grip it accurately.

Cleaning the booth, guns, hoses and recovery system so a new color can run without contamination.

The total standard uncertainty of a result, found by combining all input uncertainties through the measurement model.

Testing a burner's flue gas for oxygen, CO, CO2 and temperature to set it up safely and efficiently.

The total dose a person will receive over time from radioactive material taken into the body.

Background variation built into a stable process from many small sources, present all the time.

Describes signals or noise present equally, in the same phase, on both conductors of a pair relative to ground.

A lab check that a sealant and the materials it touches do not react, discolor or lose adhesion together.

Barrier made of a geomembrane in direct contact with a low-permeability soil or GCL layer beneath it.

Ratio of a pump's outlet pressure to its inlet pressure for a given gas, measured at zero net flow.

The crushing load concrete can carry per unit area, the main property specified and tested for concrete.

The pump that raises refrigerant vapor from evaporator pressure to condenser pressure and keeps it circulating.

The piping and equipment that bring condensed steam back to the boiler room for reuse as feedwater.

The heat exchanger where hot, high-pressure refrigerant gives up heat and condenses back to a liquid.

A boiler designed to cool flue gas below its dew point so water vapor condenses and gives up its latent heat.

Bringing paper samples to a standard temperature and humidity before testing so results can be compared.

How easily a pipe, orifice or valve lets gas through, expressed in litres per second.

Depth a standard cone sinks into grease in five seconds, the basic measurement of consistency.

Range calculated from sample data that brackets an unknown parameter, such as a mean, at a stated confidence level.

Testing samples from rolls delivered to a site to confirm the material matches the specification.

Mixing of two effects so that the data cannot separate them, whether by design or through an uncontrolled variable.

A removable termination that aligns the end of one fiber with another so light passes between them.

The makeup of a train, listing its locomotives and cars in order with weights, loads and hazmat.

Working fresh concrete, usually by vibration, so it fills the form completely and releases trapped air.

A planned stopping point between two placements, prepared so the next pour bonds to it or transfers load across it.

A target picked out of side-scan or multibeam data that may be an object worth investigating.

An adhesive applied to both surfaces and left to dry before they are pressed together for an instant bond.

The imprint left on gear teeth by marking compound after running, showing where and how the teeth touch.

The average number of tooth pairs in contact at once, which largely sets how smoothly and quietly a pair runs.

The compressive stress where two tooth flanks press together, which governs pitting life.

A heavy-duty relay that uses a 24 volt control signal to switch line voltage to a compressor and condenser fan.

The massive, leak-tight structure around a reactor that holds in radioactive material and steam if the coolant system fails.

Radioactive material in a place it is not wanted, such as on surfaces, skin, clothing or inside the body.

Time-ordered plot of a process statistic with a centerline and limits that flag when the process has changed.

A planned groove or sawcut that makes a slab crack in a straight line exactly where the crew wants it.

A cut or formed groove that makes concrete or masonry crack in a straight, planned line instead of randomly.

Boundaries on a control chart computed from the process's own variation, marking how far routine noise normally reaches.

A movable rod or blade of neutron-absorbing material used to control reactor power and shut the reactor down.

A short test section paved at the start of a job to set the rolling pattern and density target.

A power-operated valve that modulates flow on a controller signal to hold pressure, level, flow or temperature at setpoint.

A designated zone where specific radiation protection rules apply to control exposure and the spread of contamination.

Pirani-type gauge that uses gas convection around the heated wire to read from about 10⁻³ mbar up to atmosphere.

A thin layer formed by chemically reacting the metal surface, which improves adhesion and slows corrosion under powder.

Line slang for curing parts in the oven, and in the past tense, for parts that got too much heat. Shop talk

Booth slang for overheating a part during spraying, usually from slow traverse, short standoff or no pauses. Shop talk

Shop slang for parts that were overheated or held too long, ending up with coarse grain or burned structure. Shop talk

Jets of compressed air or CO2 aimed at the part during spraying to keep its temperature in check.

How much heat and moisture a cooling system has to pull out of a space each hour to keep it at design conditions.

Equipment that cools condenser water by evaporating a small part of it into an airstream.

Coefficient of performance: heat moved or delivered for each unit of energy put in, with both measured in the same units.

Flat ring of soft oxygen-free copper crushed between two CF knife edges to make a metal vacuum seal.

Area of copper flooded in by the CAD tool around traces and pads, usually tied to ground or a power net.

Test that rates how badly an oil or grease tarnishes a polished copper strip, checking for active sulfur.

Thickness of copper on a board layer, expressed as ounces of copper per square foot.

A line joining places that share the same tidal range or the same constituent amplitude.

A cylinder of pavement drilled out of the finished mat and sent to the lab for density and thickness.

A cylinder of hardened concrete drilled out of a structure to test its strength or inspect its condition.

The central glass region of an optical fiber where the light actually travels.

Tube, usually paperboard, on which nonwoven fabric is wound to make a roll.

Fully cured laminate with copper on both sides, etched into inner layers and bonded with prepreg into a multilayer.

A metal sheath filled with powder, used in arc spray to spray alloys and carbides not made as solid wire.

A head-on collision between two trains on the same track. Shop talk

Faint glowing discharge around high-voltage conductors where the air is overstressed, causing noise and loss.

A powder gun that charges particles with a high-voltage electrode at the tip, the most common gun type.

High-voltage electrical discharge across a film or sheet to raise its surface energy for bonding or printing.

The amount added to a raw reading to cancel a known, repeatable error, equal to that error with its sign flipped.

A statistical link between two input quantities, so their errors move together and cannot be combined as independent.

Metal wasting away as it reacts with the air, water or soil around it.

Extra wall thickness added beyond what pressure design needs, meant to be used up by corrosion over the service life.

Weighed metal strip exposed inside a system for a set time, then reweighed to calculate corrosion rate.

Cracking under cyclic stress in a corrosive environment, failing at lower stress or fewer cycles than in air.

Chemical added in small doses to a fluid to slow corrosion of the metal it touches.

Genericized name for the thick, waxy rust preventive smeared on stored parts, spares and weapons. Shop talk

A map line through every place where high water of a tide or constituent arrives at the same moment.

Suction roll at the end of the forming section where the wet web is dewatered and leaves the wire.

Flashing set into the wall above a base flashing, overlapping it downward to shed water off its top edge.

Leak detector layout in which helium travels backward through a turbo pump's exhaust to reach the mass spectrometer.

The steps of the last digit on a digital display, used in specs such as plus or minus 2 counts. Shop talk

A small standard test piece, usually a metal or plastic strip, bonded to check adhesive strength or prep. Shop talk

Narrow strip cut across a seam sample for peel or shear testing, usually one inch wide. Shop talk

Small test pattern built on the production panel and measured or sectioned to prove the boards meet spec.

A small test piece sprayed alongside production parts to stand in for them in destructive tests.

A rounded or angled fillet built into an inside corner so a membrane turns the corner without bridging or tearing.

The depth of concrete protecting the outermost bar, measured from the bar to the nearest face.

The portion of the seabed actually measured or imaged by a survey, expressed as a percentage of the area.

The multiplier applied to combined standard uncertainty to obtain expanded uncertainty, usually k = 2.

The interval around a result that contains the measurand's plausible values with a stated probability.

The probability that the coverage interval contains the measurand's value, usually stated as 95 percent.

Process capability ratio: the specification width divided by six process standard deviations, ignoring centering.

Small bare steel sample buried beside a pipe and wired to it, used to read IR-free potentials.

Cathodic protection technician who reads rectifiers, runs surveys and troubleshoots protection on pipes and tanks. Shop talk

Chirped Pulse Amplification: stretching a short pulse before amplifying it, then recompressing it afterwards.

Process capability index that accounts for centering: distance from the mean to the nearest spec limit in units of 3 sigma.

Construction quality assurance: independent monitoring and testing that a geosynthetic system was built as designed.

To open a valve just slightly, letting a small, controlled flow through. Shop talk

Pumping polyurethane or epoxy into a leaking concrete crack through ports to seal it from the inside.

Set of fragment ion peaks a molecule produces in a mass spectrometer, used to identify it in an RGA scan.

The pressure at which a check valve or relief valve first starts to open and pass a trickle of flow.

Quick screen for water in oil: put a drop on a hot plate and listen for crackling. Shop talk

To run a tool, holder or spindle into the part, vise or table by mistake, usually at rapid speed. Shop talk

To wreck a turbo pump's rotor by letting it hit the stator, most often by venting it hard while it spins. Shop talk

Shop name for an unsynchronized manual gearbox, where shifts grind unless engine and road speed are matched. Shop talk

A round dimple in the cured film where something with low surface tension pushed the melted powder away.

A fine, shallow network of hairline cracks on a concrete surface, often in a rough hexagon pattern.

The cement paste and fine sand that finishing tools bring to the surface, giving finishers something to work. Shop talk

Slow, continuing deformation of an adhesive under a constant load, which can end in failure over time.

Slow, continuing stretch of a geosynthetic under a constant load over time.

Slow, permanent deformation of a refractory under steady load at high temperature over hours to years.

Shortest route over an insulating surface from one conductive part to another, the dimension that resists tracking.

Localized attack inside tight gaps under gaskets, deposits or lap joints where the solution stagnates.

Color Rendering Index: a score up to 100 for how true surface colors look under a source compared with a reference light.

The waviness built into staple fibers so they cling together during opening and carding.

A temperature at which steel's structure changes phase on heating or cooling, such as Ac1 or Ac3.

The minimum impact speed a cold spray particle needs to stick to the surface instead of bouncing off.

The state in which a chain reaction sustains itself at a steady rate, with each fission causing on average exactly one more.

The discipline of preventing an accidental chain reaction wherever fissile material is handled outside a reactor.

Fitting with several ports meeting at a central body, used to hang gauges, pumps and valves off one point.

Specks of a different color or chemistry carried into a powder run from equipment, air or reclaim.

An adhesion test that cuts a grid through the film, pulls tape over it and rates how much coating comes off.

Machine that lays a light card web back and forth across a slower conveyor to build a wider, heavier batt.

To start a nut or screw crooked so its thread cuts across the mating thread instead of following it. Shop talk

Survey lines run across the mainscheme lines so the two data sets can be compared as an independent check.

The hardener in a thermoset powder that reacts with the resin to tie it into a network.

Point in a pump-down where pumping switches from the roughing pump to the high vacuum pump.

Unwanted coupling of a signal from one conductor or channel into a neighbouring one.

Arched refractory roof of a glass furnace or other large furnace, often built of silica brick.

A slight barrel shape along the tooth face so contact stays centered despite misalignment and shaft deflection.

Corrosion products that deposit on fuel and in reactor piping, become radioactive and drive most plant dose. Shop talk

A caboose, the crew car at the rear of a freight train, with a cupola or bay window for watching the cars ahead. Shop talk

An old, gruff veteran machinist with a lifetime of skill, strong opinions and little patience for shortcuts. Shop talk

Shop name for deep cryogenic treatment, a slow cool to near liquid nitrogen temperature after hardening. Shop talk

Capture pump that freezes and adsorbs gas onto surfaces cooled to about 10 to 20 K by a closed-cycle refrigerator.

A cementitious treatment whose chemicals grow insoluble crystals inside concrete pores and cracks to block water.

Copper-copper sulfate electrode, the standard reference for pipe-to-soil potential readings.

Concrete surface profile, a 1 to 10 scale of how rough a prepared concrete surface is.

Current transformer: an instrument transformer that scales large primary currents down to a standard secondary.

Centralized traffic control: signals and switches controlled remotely by a dispatcher who routes every train.

Coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch, the different growth of bonded materials with heat that stresses the bond.

Comparative tracking index: voltage an insulating material withstands before tracking under a wet contamination test.

Color Temperature Orange: a correction gel that warms daylight-balanced light toward tungsten color temperature.

Combined Uncertainty and Bathymetry Estimator: an algorithm that builds a depth surface by weighting soundings by uncertainty.

A recorded lighting state and the timed transition into it, triggered during a performance on the stage manager's call.

Corrosion under insulation: hidden external corrosion of piping and vessels beneath wet thermal insulation.

The ceramic or glass nozzle on a TIG torch that directs shielding gas; also a MIG gun nozzle. Shop talk

Shop and farm name for plain calcium soap grease, the kind fed from screw-down grease cups. Shop talk

The chemical reaction or physical change that turns a liquid adhesive into a solid that carries load.

To hold freshly placed castable moist and at moderate temperature so its cement can fully hydrate.

The time at temperature a powder needs to cure fully, measured at the part's metal, not the oven air.

The non-SI unit of radioactivity, equal to 37 billion decays per second.

Keeping fresh concrete moist and warm enough, for long enough, that the cement keeps hydrating.

A sprayed liquid membrane that seals moisture into newly finished concrete.

Upward warping of slab edges and corners, caused by the top drying and shrinking faster than the bottom.

The ellipse traced by the tip of a tidal current vector over one cycle, showing direction and speed at each stage.

Line slang for the wide sheet of falling filaments between a spunbond spinneret and the laydown belt. Shop talk

A non-load-bearing exterior wall of glass and metal framing hung off the building structure floor by floor.

A car fitted with hydraulic cushioning units at its couplers, built to protect fragile lading. Shop talk

Cumulative sum chart: adds up deviations from target so that a small persistent shift builds into a clear signal.

A group of cars coupled together and handled as one piece; as a verb, to uncouple them. Shop talk

Shop word for a powder's particle size range, such as minus 45 plus 15 micrometers. Shop talk

Shop phrase for sectioning a sample part and etching it to check case depth or structure. Shop talk

Section of pipe removed from service so corrosion damage can be examined, tested or replaced. Shop talk

The one- or two-page manufacturer data sheet for a luminaire, with dimensions, photometry and ordering options. Shop talk

Binder thinned with a petroleum solvent so it flows at low temperature, then hardens as the solvent evaporates.

Nickname for a handheld ion chamber survey meter, taken from a classic pistol-grip design. Shop talk

The angle above which a luminaire emits little or no light, used to classify glare and light pollution control.

Shop word for a rejected weld that has to be removed completely and rewelded, especially on pipe. Shop talk

Coefficient of variation: standard deviation divided by the mean, the yardstick of nonwoven uniformity.

Flow coefficient: US gallons per minute of 60 degree F water a valve passes with a 1 psi pressure drop.

Continuous Wave: laser operation with a steady output beam rather than pulses.

A narrow continuous-wave spike in a mode-locked laser's spectrum, showing part of the power is not pulsing. Shop talk

Certified Welding Inspector: the AWS inspection credential, and the usual job title for the person checking welds.

A one-part instant adhesive that cures in seconds when trace moisture on a surface triggers it.

Short for cyclorama: a large plain backdrop or curved wall at the back of a stage or studio, lit to fill it with color. Shop talk

How many times more concentrated dissolved solids are in the boiler water than in the feedwater.

A cone-shaped separator that spins booth exhaust so the powder drops out for reclaim and the air goes to filters.

A cast concrete test specimen, usually 4 by 8 in or 6 by 12 in, crushed to measure compressive strength.