lock

Introduction
Early history.
Development of modern types.
Present status of locks and safes.

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Figure 2: Contemporary version of the Yale lock (Left) All pins lifted to proper height by correct key, which can be turned to open lock, and (right) pins lifted to incorrect height by wrong key, lock will not open

Figure 6: Combination safe lock The lock cannot be opened until the slots on the three wheels are in line; movement of the dial is transmitted to each wheel by a system of pins (in practice much shorter than shown), arms, and studs

At a Glance

lock summary

Related Questions

How can two concentric cylinders create a master-key system in a Yale lock?
How did Henry Maudslay help manufacture Bramah locks?
How did James Sargent’s time lock limit when a safe could be opened?
How did Jeremiah Chubb’s detector lock reveal tampering?
How did Joseph Bramah’s lock work?
How did Linus Yale Jr. develop the Yale cylinder lock?
How did Linus Yale adapt the ancient Egyptian pin-tumbler principle?
How did Robert Barron’s double-acting tumbler lock improve lock security?
How did Robert Newell’s Parautoptic lock make lock picking harder?
How did Roman ring keys work?
How did World Wars I and II increase the use of organized security systems?
How did ancient Egyptian pin-tumbler locks work?
How did secret shutters protect a lock’s keyhole in the Middle Ages?
How did the Romans change the materials used for locks and keys?
How did the ancient Greek sickle-shaped key move a door bolt?
How did the revolving plate in the Parautoptic lock protect its interior from inspection?
How did the wooden pegs on an Egyptian lock key open the bolt?
How did tumblers prevent the bolt of a Barron lock from moving?
How did wards in Roman locks stop the wrong key from turning?
How do the serrations on a Yale key raise pins inside a cylinder lock?
How many possible combinations can a four-wheel lock with 100 positions per wheel have?
How old is the lock discovered at the palace of Khorsabad near Nineveh?
How were keys carried in the time described in the Book of Isaiah?
Which countries have used locks based on the ancient Egyptian design?
Why are Roman keys found more often than Roman locks?
Why did Greek locks provide only limited security?
Why did Robert Barron’s lock require each tumbler to be raised to a different height?
Why did a Chubb lock remain locked if a tumbler was raised too high?
Why did bank robbers begin forcing cashiers to give up safe keys and combinations in the 1870s?
Why did explosives become a greater threat to safes after World War II?
Why did the demand for locks grow during the Industrial Revolution?
Why was the Bramah lock difficult and expensive to manufacture?
Why was the ancient Egyptian lock key shaped like a large wooden bar?
Why were combination locks considered especially secure for safes and strong-room doors?
Why were warded locks relatively easy for lock pickers to open?
Why is biotechnology important?
When did modern biotechnology emerge?
When did science begin?
Where was science invented?

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External Websites

History of Keys - History of Locks

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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

lock and key - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

lock

security device

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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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History

lock, mechanical device for securing a door or receptacle so that it cannot be opened except by a key or by a series of manipulations that can be carried out only by a person knowing the secret or code. The lock originated in the Near East; the oldest known example was found in the ruins of the palace of Khorsabad near Nineveh. Possibly 4,000 years old, it is of the type known as a pin...

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