As both developed and developing countries become more motorized, daily tasks such as transportation, commute and travel have become easier and more convenient. However, motorization also resulted in an increase of tragic injuries and deaths due to car accidents involving passengers and pedestrians. They are commonly caused by distractions, intoxication, speeding, poor weather, or design defects. Annually, roughly 1.3 million people die in car crashes, with an average of 3,287 deaths per day. Amongst the estimated 3,287 deaths, 1000 of them are under 25 years old. Additionally, 20 to 50 million people involved in collisions are injured or disabled.
Consequently, multiple vehicle safety devices and systems such as airbags, seat belts and head restraints have been invented as solutions to reduce the number of casualties and injuries in a car accident. This essay will study airbags, their mechanism, operation, socioeconomic implications, and connection to physicist Isaac Newton’s laws of motion. …show more content…
About Airbags
The Supplementary Restraint System (SRS), more commonly known as the airbag, is a type of vehicle safety device used in automobiles to cushion and protect a passenger involved in a collision. They are viable safety features that are intended to be used in conjunction with seat belts, another vehicle safety device. “The goal of an airbag is to slow the passenger’s forward motion as evenly as possible in a fraction of a second.” (Woodford, 2017). Many types of airbags have been developed, such as the frontal, side and seat belt airbag.
The airbag was first designed in 1952 by American engineer John W. Hedrick, who developed the idea after getting into a car crash with his family. In the next few decades, the crash sensor was developed, and after numerous tests and modifications, many automakers began to adopt airbags into their vehicles.
Today, airbags are extremely common and have saved countless lives.
Mechanism and Operation of Airbags Modern airbags consist of a crash sensor, inflator and the bag. When a car collides with something, it decelerates quickly. The sensor detects the change of speed, and “if the deceleration is great enough, the sensor triggers the airbag circuit.” (Woodford, 2017). When the airbag circuit is triggered, the crash sensor sends a signal to the airbag control unit, which then ignites nitrogen gas, the product of sodium azide (NaN3) and potassium nitrate (KNO3). The airbag is inflated at about 200 mph by hot blasts of the nitrogen gas. This entire process takes 0.05 seconds. Connection to Newton’s Law of Inertia in Car Crashes Newton’s first law of motion, or the law of inertia, states that “every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.” (NASA, N.D.). When a driver and passenger travels in a moving car, …show more content…
However, the passengers in the car continue to move forward at the same velocity as the car was moving before the collision due to inertia, since the person will remain in uniform motion in a straight line unless there are external forces acting on it. In this case, there are no external forces acting on the passengers, so they will all move forward at the same velocity as the car was moving before the collision. They will come to an abrupt stop when they hit objects in front of them, including the dashboard or the steering wheel. This can cause serious injuries, such as broken bones and
Consequently, multiple vehicle safety devices and systems such as airbags, seat belts and head restraints have been invented as solutions to reduce the number of casualties and injuries in a car accident. This essay will study airbags, their mechanism, operation, socioeconomic implications, and connection to physicist Isaac Newton’s laws of motion. …show more content…
About Airbags
The Supplementary Restraint System (SRS), more commonly known as the airbag, is a type of vehicle safety device used in automobiles to cushion and protect a passenger involved in a collision. They are viable safety features that are intended to be used in conjunction with seat belts, another vehicle safety device. “The goal of an airbag is to slow the passenger’s forward motion as evenly as possible in a fraction of a second.” (Woodford, 2017). Many types of airbags have been developed, such as the frontal, side and seat belt airbag.
The airbag was first designed in 1952 by American engineer John W. Hedrick, who developed the idea after getting into a car crash with his family. In the next few decades, the crash sensor was developed, and after numerous tests and modifications, many automakers began to adopt airbags into their vehicles.
Today, airbags are extremely common and have saved countless lives.
Mechanism and Operation of Airbags Modern airbags consist of a crash sensor, inflator and the bag. When a car collides with something, it decelerates quickly. The sensor detects the change of speed, and “if the deceleration is great enough, the sensor triggers the airbag circuit.” (Woodford, 2017). When the airbag circuit is triggered, the crash sensor sends a signal to the airbag control unit, which then ignites nitrogen gas, the product of sodium azide (NaN3) and potassium nitrate (KNO3). The airbag is inflated at about 200 mph by hot blasts of the nitrogen gas. This entire process takes 0.05 seconds. Connection to Newton’s Law of Inertia in Car Crashes Newton’s first law of motion, or the law of inertia, states that “every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.” (NASA, N.D.). When a driver and passenger travels in a moving car, …show more content…
However, the passengers in the car continue to move forward at the same velocity as the car was moving before the collision due to inertia, since the person will remain in uniform motion in a straight line unless there are external forces acting on it. In this case, there are no external forces acting on the passengers, so they will all move forward at the same velocity as the car was moving before the collision. They will come to an abrupt stop when they hit objects in front of them, including the dashboard or the steering wheel. This can cause serious injuries, such as broken bones and