Why are Airbags Necessary?
Airbags have been designed an implemented in modern day cars, with the idea that they will minimise the impact that a person will experience during a collision. An airbag will aid in absorbing a shock without actually damaging the occupants of the vehicle. Without airbags, in the case of a crash, your impact will be not cushioned at all, and you would most likely hit a harder, much more devastating surface. Air bags have been designed with the idea that without them it 'could be worse'.
How Do Airbags Work?
In the event of a car crash, Newtons 1st law is put into action. Newtons 1st law states that an object in motion will remain in motion at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an outside force. This applies to a car crash. This is because as the car decelerates quickly, your body will want to stay in motion, therefore throwing you forward, out of your seat. Newtons 1st law also applies to your brain, as you fly out of your seat and hit the object in front of you, your brain will want to stay in motion. This causes your brain to hit the walls of your skull, resulting in brain damage.
Airbags go hand in hand with seat-belts. These important safety features do more than prevent you from flying out of your seat; they also spread the deceleration of your body over a larger area. Seat-belts are designed to restrain you, while the airbag takes the force of the impact. Airbags are often referred to as supplementary restraint systems. This is because they supplement the seatbelt. Neither of these safety features actually prevent damage on their own, but together they work really well.
Airbags go hand in hand with seat-belts. These important safety features do more than prevent you from flying out of your seat; they also spread the deceleration of your body over a larger area. Seat-belts are designed to restrain you, while the airbag takes the force of the impact. Airbags are often referred to as supplementary restraint systems. This is because they supplement the seatbelt. Neither of these safety features actually prevent damage on their own, but together they work really well.
In the event of a crash, the fast deceleration of the car is detected by an accelerometer. This then triggers the airbags to inflate. As the driver is still in motion, he/she will fly forward into the airbag and push against it. This makes the bag deflate as the gas that it contains escapes through tiny holes around the edges. The bag should have completely deflated by the time the car stops. The intention of the airbag is to provide a gradual force over time. The more time the force has to act on the occupant to slow them down, the less damage that will be caused to them.
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