Glossary

Changeover time is the time required to modify part or all of a production system to make a different product. Production systems designed for high volume standard products (food, consumer goods) are likely to have larger changeover times than production systems designed for smaller batch sizes and product variants.

Chapter 11 is part of the US Bankruptcy Code which gives time to reorganise to a business facing bankruptcy. The intention is to allow the business to survive and pay creditors according to a reorganisation plan agreed at a confirmation hearing in a federal court.

Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs) are silicon-based light detectors, widely used in astronomy for imaging of visible, ultraviolet and infrared radiation. They are also used in commercial digital cameras. The introduction of CCDs for astronomical imaging in the late 1970s, as replacements for the photographic plate, made possible many of the breakthroughs that have shaped modern astronomy.

Chlorine is a greenish-yellow gas which is toxic and corrosive. It irritates and can damage the respiratory system and the eyes. Used carefully and in suitable amounts, it disinfects drinking water and keeps swimming pools clean. Chlorine chemistry is used to make thousands of products, from plastic foams to contact lenses. Even when not part of the finished item, it is vital in many production processes – for example, titanium is purified using chlorine.