a sealed compartment on a spaceship or submarine that allows people to enter and exit while maintaining pressure, or a pocket of air trapped in a pipe.
Compound word from 'air' and 'lock' (a closing mechanism). The term was coined in the early 20th century for spacecraft and became essential to space exploration terminology.
The airlock design is a perfect example of elegant problem-solving: to go from zero pressure (space) to full pressure (the ship), you need an intermediate chamber, or the pressure change would kill you instantly.
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