floodgate vs vacuum tube

floodgate

noun
  • An adjustable gate or valve used to control the flow of water through a sluice. 

  • Anything that controls or limits an outpouring of people, emotion etc. 

vacuum tube

noun
  • A type of electron tube that controls electron current through vacuum between electrodes within a sealed container, usually of glass or metal and often designed to be easily installed in and removed from the equipment in which it is used. 

How often have the words floodgate and vacuum tube occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )