Understand How Automotive Air Bags Work
Air bags were introduced into cars in the 1980s, although they have been a part of military aircraft since World War II. Statistically, they reduce injury in an automobile accident by approximately 30 percent. Now they are required to be located on both the driver and passenger's side of the car. These cushions inflate about 50 milliseconds after a collision in order to form a protective pillow and lessen the impact of the whiplash momentum a crash creates. It can help to be aware of how air bags work in order to understand how they can be beneficial during a collision, and also so you can choose whether you want them turned off or on, depending upon who is sitting in your car. This article will tell you how to understand how automotive air bags work. Imagine you have just had a collision with another car in order to understand the process.
Steps
- Learn how a collision with a hard object triggers the airbag. There are electronic sensors in the front of your car that detect this collision within seconds. The force required to activate the sensor is equal to running into a rock wall at the speed of 10 miles (16 km) per hour.
- Understand the signal's job is to tell a microchip to detonate a canister filled with sodium azide (NaN3) and combine it with potassium nitrate (KNO3). This chemical reaction forms nitrogen gas.
- Sodium azide is a stable compound unless it is heated. The chemical reaction process creates the heat required to make it unstable. Once it is heated sodium azide can be toxic to the compounds, so automobile manufacturers mix the sodium azide with other chemicals to lessen the effect once the airbag is inflated.
- Understand that heated blasts of nitrogen gas from this chemical reaction inflate a nylon airbag. This thin bag is stored inside the dashboard, steering wheel or door. It is filled at approximately the velocity of 150 to 250 miles (240 to 402 km) per hour.
- The bags usually also release a powdery substance, like cornstarch, when they are released. The nylon is stored in this powder in order to keep it pliable until the point of impact.
- Learn that the airbag begins to deflate immediately upon inflation. This makes sure that both the head and torso hit a pillow-like surface, rather than a hard surface.
Tips
- Air bags were created to be used with seat belts. They are meant to further dampen the impact after the seat belt has done its job to hold the driver or passenger in place.
- Researchers suggest that the driver should sit at least 10 inches (25 cm) behind the steering wheel. Sitting closer can cause damage to the driver upon impact with the steering wheel.
- Slightly recline your seat so that the front airbag points toward your chest, rather than your head. This can also lessen the chance of airbag injury and help to absorb the majority of the shock of the collision.
- You may be able to deactivate your airbag. This is recommended if you must carry infants in the front seat or if you have certain medical conditions, such as a pacemaker, angina, eyeglasses, mastectomy, emphysema, back or neck surgeries, pregnancy or osteoporosis.
Warnings
- Children under 12 years old should not be placed in the front of the car. Both collisions and the impact of air bags can be harmful to small children. Sitting in the back of the car should absorb more impact than being seated at the front, in most cars.
Things You'll Need
- airbag deactivation switch (optional)
- Car manufactured after 1980
