The goal of air bags is to restrain the passengers during collision with as little damage as possible. An air bag slows the passenger’s speed during collision thus preventing the passenger from getting head injuries that can be serious if not treated immediately.

1. The Chemistry Of Air Bags
When it comes to road safety, it is not only enough
to trust your life to seat belts. In fact, high impact
collision tests have revealed that seat belts cannot
prevent the passengers from hitting the dashboard
and for this reason air bags are encouraged. Today,
all modern cars are equipped with airbags.

2. The goal of air bags is to restrain the passengers
during collision with as little damage as possible. An
air bag slows the passenger’s speed during collision
thus preventing the passenger from getting head
injuries that can be serious if not treated
immediately. Air bags are definitely important but
how well do you know about them?
Knowing about air bags is very important so that you
will be able to understand how they work.
Moreover, you will also be able to know how to buy
air bag kits or air bag replacements should you need
to change your old one. Knowing about how airbags
work will make you appreciate this particular device
even more.
Air bags are made from sturdy material which can
either be polyester or other air tight fabric. When an
air bag is inflated, it is not inflated by a compressed
gas source but it is compressed due to chemical
reaction. Air bags are inflated by the breakdown of
Sodium azide. When Sodium azide breaks down, it
releases Nitrogen gas which causes the air bag to
inflate.

3. In most cases, air bag kits and air bag replacements
contain 130 grams of Sodium azide which, when
broken down, can produce 67 liters of nitrogen gas.
This explains why the bags inflate at a large
proportion.
There is another chemistry involved in air bags.
Another product produced during the breakdown of
Sodium azide is Sodium which is a highly reactive
metal that reacts to water in order to form Sodium
hydroxide. The air bags are connected to a sensor in
from of the vehicle that detects collision.
Upon near collision, the sensors send electrical
signal to the container where the Sodium azide is
contained and the electrical charge detonates an

4. igniter compound that breaks down the Sodium
azide to Sodium and nitrogen so that it easily
inflates. The entire process takes about 30
milliseconds to complete.
There is cool science behind how airbag works and
so when you buy replacements for your old ones,
make sure that it has enough Sodium azide so that it
can easily inflate should you encounter accidents.