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Table of Contents

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Figure 1: Ancient Egyptian lock

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 3: Warded lock and key

Figure 4: Barron tumbler lock, 1778

Figure 5: Bramah lock, 1784

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

For Students

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World Data Locator Map: Australia

Is Australia an Island?

Cathedrale St.Jean in Lyon, France has a 14th-century astronomical clock that shows religious feast days till the year 2019; Perpetual Calendar

Ten Days That Vanished: The Switch to the Gregorian Calendar

Young boys working in a thread spinning mill in Macon, Georgia, 1909. Boys are so small they have to climb onto the spinning frame to reach and fix broken threads and put back empty bobbins. Child labor. Industrial revolution

The Rise of the Machines: Pros and Cons of the Industrial Revolution

The Battle of New Orleans, by E. Percy Moran, c. 1910. Andrew Jackson, War of 1812.

26 Decade-Defining Events in U.S. History

Sydney New Years Eve Fireworks

Why Does the New Year Start on January 1?

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins)

New Seven Wonders of the World

Town of Sisimiut located on the coast of the Davis Strait on Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay, Greenland

The Largest Islands in the World

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Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos

Figure 1: Ancient Egyptian lock

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 3: Warded lock and key

Figure 4: Barron tumbler lock, 1778

Figure 5: Bramah lock, 1784

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

See All Images →

Topics

key ward Bramah lock combination lock Newell lock padlock pin tumbler time lock warded lock Yale lock fence fire prevention and control computer security doorstop

Key People

Charles Chubb

British inventor