Sealed chambers with two doors that allow people to move between spaces with different air pressures, especially used in spacecraft and submarines.
From 'air' + 'lock' (a fastening device). Developed as a technical term in the 20th century to describe sealed compartments that regulate air pressure.
Airlocks are a critical safety invention—without them, spacecraft would instantly decompress if outer doors opened. Astronauts depend on the simple principle of nested chambers to survive in the vacuum of space where there's no air at all.
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