Same word, different worlds
Kick
Kick turns up in 5 fields: adhesives, electrotechnology, photonics, concrete, railroad. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
- 06AdAdhesivesKick in Adhesives
To gel or cure suddenly, as in a resin kicking in the cup or a CA kicking with accelerator. Kick is the moment a reactive adhesive turns from liquid to solid. Epoxy that kicks in the cup has run out of pot life, usually because the batch was too big or too warm. In model shops and on assembly benches, a kicker is an accelerator sprayed on cyanoacrylate to make it kick instantly.
On the job: Mixed too much and it kicked in the cup, smoke and all, mix half that next time.
- 13EtElectrotechnologyKick in Electrotechnology
Shop verb for a breaker, overload or relay tripping, as in the breaker kicked. Kick is the informal way operators and electricians describe a protective device opening, usually suddenly and unexpectedly: the breaker kicked, the overloads kicked out, the line kicked on lightning. The word says nothing about the cause, so experienced people follow it straight away with which element operated or what flagged.
On the job: Pump 2 kicked on overload again, third time this shift, someone check the impeller before we reset it.
- 19PhPhotonics & LasersKick in Photonics & Lasers
To start a Kerr-lens mode-locked laser by briefly disturbing the cavity so a pulse can form. Kerr-lens mode-locked oscillators such as many Ti:sapphire lasers often are not self-starting: they sit happily in continuous mode until an intensity spike gets the pulse going. Operators kick them by tapping or quickly translating a prism or end mirror, and many commercial lasers have a built-in starter that wiggles an optic on command. Once kicked, the pulse sustains itself.
On the job: It came up CW after the power blip, give the prism a kick and watch the spectrum broaden.
- 23CnConcrete & CementKick in Concrete & Cement
To start setting, usually sooner than the crew expected; a load that kicks stiffens fast. Finisher and pumper slang for the moment concrete starts to stiffen, as in 'the slab is kicking' or 'it kicked in the hose'. Heat, sun, wind, accelerators and long waits all make a pour kick early, and once it does the crew has minutes rather than hours to close and finish it. A load that has already kicked in the drum is usually rejected at the chute.
On the job: Sun's on the east end and it's kicking, get the machine on it now and forget the second bull float.
- 30RrRailroadingKick in Railroading
To shove a cut of cars, uncouple it on the move and let it roll free onto a track. Instead of shoving every car all the way into place, a yard crew accelerates a cut, the engineer brakes, and the uncoupled cut rolls on alone into its track while the locomotive stays back. Kicking saves time but takes judgment: too hard and the cars slam into others above the usual 4 mph coupling limit, too soft and they stall short and foul the switch. Railroads restrict kicking of placarded hazmat cars and other sensitive loads.
On the job: Kick two into 14, easy, they only need to roll about ten cars down, then come back for the empties.