GLOSSARY

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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CAVITIES

Hollow spaces in walls, flooring, ceilings and fixtures, into which water can flow, wick or migrate and become trapped or inhibited from drying.


CAVITY WALL

An exterior wall, usually of masonry, consisting of an outer and inner skin.


CEILING PLENUM

The space below flooring and above a suspended ceiling that houses the mechanical and electrical equipment, and which is used as part of the air conveyance or HVAC system. This space is kept under negative pressure.


CELL

The smallest structural part of living matter capable of functioning as an independent unit.


CELLULOSE

A polysaccharide of glucose units that is the basic building block of plant cells (cp _cotton; jute_). Also used as a basic raw material in the manufacture of rayon and acetate. About 96% of cotton fibre is cellulose.


CELSIUS

(c or C) – An international thermometric scale (cp _centigrade_).


CEMENT

1. A substance that connects two materials when hardened. 2. A powder of alumina, silica, lime, iron oxide and magnesia burned together in a kiln, and finely pulverized and used as an ingredient of mortar and concrete; also, _Portland cement._


CENTIGRADE

(c or C) – A scale for measuring temperature. On the centigrade scale, water boils at 100oC and freezes at 0oC


CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

The brain, spinal cord and connecting nerve tissues. These organs supervise and coordinate the activity of the entire nervous system. Sensory impulses are transmitted into the central nervous system from the brain, and motor impulses are transmitted into muscles and organs.


CERAMIC TILE

Thin, flat pieces of fired clay, attached to walls, floors, or other surfaces.