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"I've been very obsessive about writing science fiction for far too many years. Anyone with an ounce of sense would have given up years ago."
- Charles Stross
 |
| Airlock | ||
| An intermediate chamber between airless space and the interior of a space craft. |
How can you go between the void of space and oxygen-rich interior of your space craft?
| DuQuesne reported briefly to the two girls. All three put on space-suits and crowded into the tiny airlock. The lock was pumped down. |
| Technovelgy from The Skylark of Space,
by E.E. 'Doc' Smith. Published by Amazing Stories in 1928 Additional resources -
|
The phrase "air lock" and the basic purpose was first used in the mid-19th century in relation to sea-going vessels.
Not all airlocks and doors were tiny; this excerpt is from The Power Planet (1931) by Murray Leinster.
Those in the observatory felt a sudden savage suction
of air. It swayed them upon their feet.
“In a hurry,” said Jimmy Cardigan grimly. “The
Commander let in the air from the Planet instead of
the tanks. He’s in a hurry, too.”
This is perhaps the earliest usage of the phrase in science fiction. However, the idea was put forward much earlier; see the entry for the double-door vestibule from Astor's 1894 novel A Journey in Other Worlds.
Then there was the clank
of the airlock door — a vast circle a hundred feet across.
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Tech news articles related to works by E.E. 'Doc' Smith
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| SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space |
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
'Here is a Clerk that would work incessantly, and neither eat, sleep, want payment, or grumble.'
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
