TFLcar’s Chemistry of Cars, Ep. 2 – How Do Airbags Work?
TFLcar’s Charlotte Roadcap takes to the whiteboard to draw out the chemical reactions that activate a vehicle’s airbag. It takes a bit of “engineered violence” to ignite 138 grams of sodium azide that makes a roughly 60-liter bag explode and fill in 30 milliseconds. And do it with enough pressure to save your face from bludgeoning itself on the steering wheel in an accident.
Cool factoid Charlotte dug up: The first airbag available to car buyers came as an option in a 1974 Oldsmobile Toronado. Learn how much the option cost and many more nuggets of intelligence, science, math, and history in the video below. And yes, you find out the answer to the question: Can an airbag kill you?
