| | air lock - Columbia Encyclopedia article about air lock (via CobWeb/3.1 planetlab2.isi.jhu.edu) (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18) |
 | | Space capsules have air locks to enable astronauts to move between the pressurized cabin and the near vacuum of space. |
 | | A more common example is the air lock between the outer atmosphere and the working chamber of a caisson caisson (kā`sən, –sŏn) [Fr.,=big box], in engineering, a chamber, usually of steel but sometimes of wood or reinforced concrete, used in the construction of foundations or piers in or near a body of water. |
 | | After the outer door is closed, compressed air is admitted to raise pressure in the air lock to the level of the pressure in the working chamber, and the inner door can be opened. |
| columbia.thefreedictionary.com.cob-web.org:8888 /air+lock (347 words) |