The initial 1950s design for airbags did not initially work because it involved a compressed gas that would release to fill a type of bladder, but this design wasn't fast enough to inflate the airbag in time to protect the occupant during a collision.
In a collision, a car's airbag has a tiny fraction of a second in which to inflate—which is why airbags use explosives.
I CAN IMAGINE the meeting: A dozen engineers are gathered around a conference table to discuss automobile safety. How can we protect people during a car crash? We have already added seat belts and crumple zones to cars. Is there anything else we can include? One attendee reluctantly raises their hand with a suggestion: "How about we add an explosive in the steering wheel?" Brilliant. That's exactly what we will do. We will put a bomb in the car and it will save lives.
They were right. Airbags are explosives and airbags save lives—but it's still a crazy idea.
The original idea for the automotive airbag dates back to the early 1950s. It wasn’t exactly an explosive-powered device. It involved a compressed gas that would release to fill a type of bladder. This design didn't work very well—it wasn't fast enough. It turns out the only way to get an airbag to inflate fast enough to be useful is with an explosive. OK, technically it's a chemical reaction that produces gas to fill the bag—but that's essentially an explosion.
So, just how fast does the airbag need to inflate? Let's do a rough estimation to get the minimum inflation time.
Here is the situation. It's a nice day for a picnic. Let's go on a picnic, shall we? I will bring some food and you can bring the blanket. Hop in the car and I will drive. Driving along and all of sudden—a deer in the road! Swerve! Crash into a tree. Blam.
The car was traveling only 35 miles per hour (15.6 meters per second) and when it crashes into the tree, it stops instantly (which isn't true—but close enough). There is one other important thing to estimate, the distance from the driver to the steering wheel. I'll be generous and put this at a value of 0.5 meter; it's probably lower than that.
Here is what happens. The human is traveling at 15.6 m/s inside a car that just stopped instantly. The air bag has to deploy before the human collides with the stopped steering wheel. Now for some physics. If we assume no forces on the human (forget about the seatbelt for now), the human will have a constant velocity. With this constant velocity, we can calculate the time to impact using just the definition of average velocity in one dimension: Vavg = x/t t = x/Vavg
Using the values of 15.6 m/s for the velocity and a distance of 0.5 meters, I get a collision time of 0.032 seconds. That is a super short time—like the blink of an eye. OK, actually it is less than the "blink of an eye" which seems to take around 0.1 seconds. But wait! It's even worse. This calculated time is how long it would take for the human to hit the steering wheel. But the idea is to have the human hit an airbag instead. That means that not only does the airbag have to inflate in this time, but it also decreases the distance the person can travel. Let's say the distance is cut in half—that also cuts the inflation time in half to about 0.016 seconds.
Try blowing up a balloon in under a tenth of a second. It's pretty much impossible. Now try doing the same thing for a larger bag in even less time. You can't do that with air. The only answer is an explosion that produces a gas to fill the airbag.
It's even crazier than you think. Let's imagine what has to happen for this collision (which is just at 35 mph).
The car hits the tree.
Something in the car has to detect a collision. There has to be an accelerometer that says "oh hey—I think we are crashing."
This sensor then sends a signal to the airbag. The airbag then ignites the "explosive" inside.
The explosion expands and inflates the bag.
All of that has to happen before the human hits the bag. Crazy. OK, it's true the seatbelt also slows the human down during the collision. This will give the airbag a little more time to deploy. This is also why you should wear your seatbelt—even if your car has an airbag. Or better yet, just watch out for deer on the road and drive carefully.
The initial 1950’s design for airbags did not initially work because ________________________________________________________________________.
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read the passge then fill this out
The initial 1950’s design for airbags did not initially work because ________________________________________________________________________.
The initial 1950’s design for airbags did not initially work because ________________________________________________________________________.
The initial 1950s design for airbags did not initially work because it involved a compressed gas that released to fill a bladder, but it was not fast enough to inflate in time to be effective during a collision.
In a collision, a car's airbag has a tiny fraction of a second in which to inflate—which is why airbags use explosives.
I CAN IMAGINE the meeting: A dozen engineers are gathered around a conference table to discuss automobile safety. How can we protect people during a car crash? We have already added seat belts and crumple zones to cars. Is there anything else we can include? One attendee reluctantly raises their hand with a suggestion: "How about we add an explosive in the steering wheel?" Brilliant. That's exactly what we will do. We will put a bomb in the car and it will save lives.
They were right. Airbags are explosives and airbags save lives—but it's still a crazy idea.
The original idea for the automotive airbag dates back to the early 1950s. It wasn’t exactly an explosive-powered device. It involved a compressed gas that would release to fill a type of bladder. This design didn't work very well—it wasn't fast enough. It turns out the only way to get an airbag to inflate fast enough to be useful is with an explosive. OK, technically it's a chemical reaction that produces gas to fill the bag—but that's essentially an explosion.
So, just how fast does the airbag need to inflate? Let's do a rough estimation to get the minimum inflation time.
Here is the situation. It's a nice day for a picnic. Let's go on a picnic, shall we? I will bring some food and you can bring the blanket. Hop in the car and I will drive. Driving along and all of sudden—a deer in the road! Swerve! Crash into a tree. Blam.
The car was traveling only 35 miles per hour (15.6 meters per second) and when it crashes into the tree, it stops instantly (which isn't true—but close enough). There is one other important thing to estimate, the distance from the driver to the steering wheel. I'll be generous and put this at a value of 0.5 meter; it's probably lower than that.
Here is what happens. The human is traveling at 15.6 m/s inside a car that just stopped instantly. The air bag has to deploy before the human collides with the stopped steering wheel. Now for some physics. If we assume no forces on the human (forget about the seatbelt for now), the human will have a constant velocity. With this constant velocity, we can calculate the time to impact using just the definition of average velocity in one dimension: Vavg = x/t t = x/Vavg
Using the values of 15.6 m/s for the velocity and a distance of 0.5 meters, I get a collision time of 0.032 seconds. That is a super short time—like the blink of an eye. OK, actually it is less than the "blink of an eye" which seems to take around 0.1 seconds. But wait! It's even worse. This calculated time is how long it would take for the human to hit the steering wheel. But the idea is to have the human hit an airbag instead. That means that not only does the airbag have to inflate in this time, but it also decreases the distance the person can travel. Let's say the distance is cut in half—that also cuts the inflation time in half to about 0.016 seconds.
Try blowing up a balloon in under a tenth of a second. It's pretty much impossible. Now try doing the same thing for a larger bag in even less time. You can't do that with air. The only answer is an explosion that produces a gas to fill the airbag.
It's even crazier than you think. Let's imagine what has to happen for this collision (which is just at 35 mph).
The car hits the tree.
Something in the car has to detect a collision. There has to be an accelerometer that says "oh hey—I think we are crashing."
This sensor then sends a signal to the airbag. The airbag then ignites the "explosive" inside.
The explosion expands and inflates the bag.
All of that has to happen before the human hits the bag. Crazy. OK, it's true the seatbelt also slows the human down during the collision. This will give the airbag a little more time to deploy. This is also why you should wear your seatbelt—even if your car has an airbag. Or better yet, just watch out for deer on the road and drive carefully
A brief explanation of how modern airbags work is
I CAN IMAGINE the meeting: A dozen engineers are gathered around a conference table to discuss automobile safety. How can we protect people during a car crash? We have already added seat belts and crumple zones to cars. Is there anything else we can include? One attendee reluctantly raises their hand with a suggestion: "How about we add an explosive in the steering wheel?" Brilliant. That's exactly what we will do. We will put a bomb in the car and it will save lives.
They were right. Airbags are explosives and airbags save lives—but it's still a crazy idea.
The original idea for the automotive airbag dates back to the early 1950s. It wasn’t exactly an explosive-powered device. It involved a compressed gas that would release to fill a type of bladder. This design didn't work very well—it wasn't fast enough. It turns out the only way to get an airbag to inflate fast enough to be useful is with an explosive. OK, technically it's a chemical reaction that produces gas to fill the bag—but that's essentially an explosion.
So, just how fast does the airbag need to inflate? Let's do a rough estimation to get the minimum inflation time.
Here is the situation. It's a nice day for a picnic. Let's go on a picnic, shall we? I will bring some food and you can bring the blanket. Hop in the car and I will drive. Driving along and all of sudden—a deer in the road! Swerve! Crash into a tree. Blam.
The car was traveling only 35 miles per hour (15.6 meters per second) and when it crashes into the tree, it stops instantly (which isn't true—but close enough). There is one other important thing to estimate, the distance from the driver to the steering wheel. I'll be generous and put this at a value of 0.5 meter; it's probably lower than that.
Here is what happens. The human is traveling at 15.6 m/s inside a car that just stopped instantly. The air bag has to deploy before the human collides with the stopped steering wheel. Now for some physics. If we assume no forces on the human (forget about the seatbelt for now), the human will have a constant velocity. With this constant velocity, we can calculate the time to impact using just the definition of average velocity in one dimension: Vavg = x/t t = x/Vavg
Using the values of 15.6 m/s for the velocity and a distance of 0.5 meters, I get a collision time of 0.032 seconds. That is a super short time—like the blink of an eye. OK, actually it is less than the "blink of an eye" which seems to take around 0.1 seconds. But wait! It's even worse. This calculated time is how long it would take for the human to hit the steering wheel. But the idea is to have the human hit an airbag instead. That means that not only does the airbag have to inflate in this time, but it also decreases the distance the person can travel. Let's say the distance is cut in half—that also cuts the inflation time in half to about 0.016 seconds.
Try blowing up a balloon in under a tenth of a second. It's pretty much impossible. Now try doing the same thing for a larger bag in even less time. You can't do that with air. The only answer is an explosion that produces a gas to fill the airbag.
It's even crazier than you think. Let's imagine what has to happen for this collision (which is just at 35 mph).
The car hits the tree.
Something in the car has to detect a collision. There has to be an accelerometer that says "oh hey—I think we are crashing."
This sensor then sends a signal to the airbag. The airbag then ignites the "explosive" inside.
The explosion expands and inflates the bag.
All of that has to happen before the human hits the bag. Crazy. OK, it's true the seatbelt also slows the human down during the collision. This will give the airbag a little more time to deploy. This is also why you should wear your seatbelt—even if your car has an airbag. Or better yet, just watch out for deer on the road and drive carefully
A brief explanation of how modern airbags work is
A brief explanation of how modern airbags work is that they rely on a combination of sensors and explosive compounds to inflate rapidly during a collision. When a car experiences a collision, accelerometers detect the sudden deceleration and trigger the airbag system. This system ignites a small explosive charge, resulting in a rapid chemical reaction that produces gas. The gas fills the airbag almost instantaneously, typically within about 0.016 seconds, allowing the airbag to deploy before the occupant can make contact with the steering wheel or dashboard. This quick inflation helps to cushion the impact and reduce the risk of injury.
In a collision, a car's airbag has a tiny fraction of a second in which to inflate—which is why airbags use explosives.
I CAN IMAGINE the meeting: A dozen engineers are gathered around a conference table to discuss automobile safety. How can we protect people during a car crash? We have already added seat belts and crumple zones to cars. Is there anything else we can include? One attendee reluctantly raises their hand with a suggestion: "How about we add an explosive in the steering wheel?" Brilliant. That's exactly what we will do. We will put a bomb in the car and it will save lives.
They were right. Airbags are explosives and airbags save lives—but it's still a crazy idea.
The original idea for the automotive airbag dates back to the early 1950s. It wasn’t exactly an explosive-powered device. It involved a compressed gas that would release to fill a type of bladder. This design didn't work very well—it wasn't fast enough. It turns out the only way to get an airbag to inflate fast enough to be useful is with an explosive. OK, technically it's a chemical reaction that produces gas to fill the bag—but that's essentially an explosion.
So, just how fast does the airbag need to inflate? Let's do a rough estimation to get the minimum inflation time.
Here is the situation. It's a nice day for a picnic. Let's go on a picnic, shall we? I will bring some food and you can bring the blanket. Hop in the car and I will drive. Driving along and all of sudden—a deer in the road! Swerve! Crash into a tree. Blam.
The car was traveling only 35 miles per hour (15.6 meters per second) and when it crashes into the tree, it stops instantly (which isn't true—but close enough). There is one other important thing to estimate, the distance from the driver to the steering wheel. I'll be generous and put this at a value of 0.5 meter; it's probably lower than that.
Here is what happens. The human is traveling at 15.6 m/s inside a car that just stopped instantly. The air bag has to deploy before the human collides with the stopped steering wheel. Now for some physics. If we assume no forces on the human (forget about the seatbelt for now), the human will have a constant velocity. With this constant velocity, we can calculate the time to impact using just the definition of average velocity in one dimension: Vavg = x/t t = x/Vavg
Using the values of 15.6 m/s for the velocity and a distance of 0.5 meters, I get a collision time of 0.032 seconds. That is a super short time—like the blink of an eye. OK, actually it is less than the "blink of an eye" which seems to take around 0.1 seconds. But wait! It's even worse. This calculated time is how long it would take for the human to hit the steering wheel. But the idea is to have the human hit an airbag instead. That means that not only does the airbag have to inflate in this time, but it also decreases the distance the person can travel. Let's say the distance is cut in half—that also cuts the inflation time in half to about 0.016 seconds.
Try blowing up a balloon in under a tenth of a second. It's pretty much impossible. Now try doing the same thing for a larger bag in even less time. You can't do that with air. The only answer is an explosion that produces a gas to fill the airbag.
It's even crazier than you think. Let's imagine what has to happen for this collision (which is just at 35 mph).
The car hits the tree.
Something in the car has to detect a collision. There has to be an accelerometer that says "oh hey—I think we are crashing."
This sensor then sends a signal to the airbag. The airbag then ignites the "explosive" inside.
The explosion expands and inflates the bag.
All of that has to happen before the human hits the bag. Crazy. OK, it's true the seatbelt also slows the human down during the collision. This will give the airbag a little more time to deploy. This is also why you should wear your seatbelt—even if your car has an airbag. Or better yet, just watch out for deer on the road and drive carefully
It is beneficial to use a seatbelt along with the airbag because
I CAN IMAGINE the meeting: A dozen engineers are gathered around a conference table to discuss automobile safety. How can we protect people during a car crash? We have already added seat belts and crumple zones to cars. Is there anything else we can include? One attendee reluctantly raises their hand with a suggestion: "How about we add an explosive in the steering wheel?" Brilliant. That's exactly what we will do. We will put a bomb in the car and it will save lives.
They were right. Airbags are explosives and airbags save lives—but it's still a crazy idea.
The original idea for the automotive airbag dates back to the early 1950s. It wasn’t exactly an explosive-powered device. It involved a compressed gas that would release to fill a type of bladder. This design didn't work very well—it wasn't fast enough. It turns out the only way to get an airbag to inflate fast enough to be useful is with an explosive. OK, technically it's a chemical reaction that produces gas to fill the bag—but that's essentially an explosion.
So, just how fast does the airbag need to inflate? Let's do a rough estimation to get the minimum inflation time.
Here is the situation. It's a nice day for a picnic. Let's go on a picnic, shall we? I will bring some food and you can bring the blanket. Hop in the car and I will drive. Driving along and all of sudden—a deer in the road! Swerve! Crash into a tree. Blam.
The car was traveling only 35 miles per hour (15.6 meters per second) and when it crashes into the tree, it stops instantly (which isn't true—but close enough). There is one other important thing to estimate, the distance from the driver to the steering wheel. I'll be generous and put this at a value of 0.5 meter; it's probably lower than that.
Here is what happens. The human is traveling at 15.6 m/s inside a car that just stopped instantly. The air bag has to deploy before the human collides with the stopped steering wheel. Now for some physics. If we assume no forces on the human (forget about the seatbelt for now), the human will have a constant velocity. With this constant velocity, we can calculate the time to impact using just the definition of average velocity in one dimension: Vavg = x/t t = x/Vavg
Using the values of 15.6 m/s for the velocity and a distance of 0.5 meters, I get a collision time of 0.032 seconds. That is a super short time—like the blink of an eye. OK, actually it is less than the "blink of an eye" which seems to take around 0.1 seconds. But wait! It's even worse. This calculated time is how long it would take for the human to hit the steering wheel. But the idea is to have the human hit an airbag instead. That means that not only does the airbag have to inflate in this time, but it also decreases the distance the person can travel. Let's say the distance is cut in half—that also cuts the inflation time in half to about 0.016 seconds.
Try blowing up a balloon in under a tenth of a second. It's pretty much impossible. Now try doing the same thing for a larger bag in even less time. You can't do that with air. The only answer is an explosion that produces a gas to fill the airbag.
It's even crazier than you think. Let's imagine what has to happen for this collision (which is just at 35 mph).
The car hits the tree.
Something in the car has to detect a collision. There has to be an accelerometer that says "oh hey—I think we are crashing."
This sensor then sends a signal to the airbag. The airbag then ignites the "explosive" inside.
The explosion expands and inflates the bag.
All of that has to happen before the human hits the bag. Crazy. OK, it's true the seatbelt also slows the human down during the collision. This will give the airbag a little more time to deploy. This is also why you should wear your seatbelt—even if your car has an airbag. Or better yet, just watch out for deer on the road and drive carefully
It is beneficial to use a seatbelt along with the airbag because
It is beneficial to use a seatbelt along with the airbag because the seatbelt helps slow the occupant down during a collision, thereby allowing the airbag a little more time to deploy and cushion the impact. While airbags are designed to inflate rapidly and protect occupants from hitting hard surfaces in the car, seatbelts reduce the initial forward motion of the occupant, minimizing the potential for injury. Together, they provide a more effective safety system than either one alone, offering enhanced protection in the event of a crash.
The first thing I found interesting in this article
The first thing I found interesting in this article is the notion that airbags, which are commonly viewed as a standard safety feature in modern vehicles, actually contain explosives to function effectively. It's surprising to think that engineers had to resort to using a controlled explosive reaction to ensure that the airbag could inflate quickly enough to protect occupants during a collision. This highlights not only the innovative thinking behind airbag technology but also the lengths to which safety engineers must go to mitigate the risks associated with car accidents. The transition from earlier designs that relied on compressed gas, which were ineffective due to slow deployment times, to the current explosive-powered airbags is a fascinating aspect of automotive safety advancements.
The second thing I found interesting in this article
The second thing I found interesting in this article is the detailed explanation of the incredibly short time frame in which an airbag must inflate to be effective during a collision. The calculation demonstrating that it takes only about 0.016 seconds for the airbag to deploy before an occupant hits the steering wheel is astounding. This urgency emphasizes how critical it is for the airbag system to work flawlessly under extreme conditions. It also highlights the sophistication of modern automotive safety systems, including accelerometers that detect a collision and initiate the inflation process almost instantaneously. This intricate timing and coordination required for the airbag to deploy effectively adds depth to our understanding of vehicle safety and the engineering challenges behind it, making it clear why such features are essential in reducing injuries during accidents.