An enclosed space with two or more doors or a room between two areas that have different air pressure, allows you to go from one area to the other. The lock usually consists of a relatively small chamber with two airtight doors in series which do not open simultaneously. Some cannabis manufacturing facilities use Airlock doors to ensure sanitation in processing cannabis products.
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An airlock is a room or compartment which permits passage between environments of differing atmospheric pressure or composition, while minimizing the changing of pressure or composition between the differing environments.
An airlock consists of a chamber with two airtight doors or openings, usually arranged in series, which do not open simultaneously. Airlocks can be small-scale mechanisms, such as those used in fermenting, or larger mechanisms, which often take the form of an antechamber.
An airlock may also be used underwater to allow passage between the air environment in a pressure vessel, such as a submarine, and the water environment outside. In such cases the airlock can contain air or water. This is called a floodable airlock or underwater airlock, and is used to prevent water from entering a submersible vessel or underwater habitat.
English
Alternative forms
- air lock
- air-lock
Etymology
From air + lock.
Noun
airlock (plural airlocks)
- A sealed, airtight chamber, such as in a manned spacecraft or submarine, used to provide access to and from the sealed area without allowing air out or water in.
- (architecture, informal) A vestibule, foyer or entranceway with doors to the exterior on one end and doors to the interior on the other, functioning to keep indoor and outdoor air, humidity, and air temperatures separate.
- Coordinate terms: mudroom, boot room
