The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1997/The_Epic_Interactive_Encyclopedia_97.iso/a/airlock/infotext

Text File | 1992-09-02 | 516b | 13 lines

Airtight chamber that allows people to pass
between areas of different pressure; also an
air bubble in a pipe that impedes fluid flow.
An airlock may connect an environment at
ordinary pressure and an environment that has
high air pressure (such as a submerged
caisson used for tunnelling or building dams
or bridge foundations). An airlock may also
permit someone wearing breathing apparatus to
pass into an airless environment (into water
from a submerged submarine or into the vacuum
of space from a spacecraft).