: if all door locks are different and different keys open different locks, how does a universal key work?
In: Engineering
Every lock in a set of locks has two sets of buttons inside them. The key presses one set of the buttons to allow you to turn the key and open the lock.
One set of buttons works with the specific key for that lock. The other set works with the master key.
The “universal” key is not universal. It works with a specific set of locks that was purpose made to be part of that same set. As an example, there might be a master key for an apartment building, or a motel. Those locks were all made to fit a specific master key. Different master keys will not work on every lock you encounter in the world, just on the specific locks from that set. In theory any way. There are probably people out there who happen to have identical keys and locks, but there’s no way of knowing which locks, so that doesn’t matter.
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