Answer:
Let’s get back to simple physics and the laws of motion. Your car and everything in it are traveling in a given direction, to stop in requires force be applied in the opposite direction over a period of time. This occurs extremely quickly in an accident and the force is greater because the time the opposing force is acting on the vehicle is very short. The airbag system is designed to offer you protection from the violent forces exerted on you during an accident.
There are three main components to your airbag system, the bag, the inflator and the sensor. The sensor must register a collision force roughly equal to hitting a brick wall at 10 to 15 mile per hour before it will trigger the airbag inflation. Once tripped the airbag system inflates through a chemical reaction between sodium azide (NaN3) and potassium nitrate (KNO3) which creates nitrogen gas. An igniter is set off which quickly burns the chemical fuel and creates the gas needed for expansion. The bag then blows out of its storage in a split-second. Immediately after inflation, when the chemical burn is complete, the airbag begins to deflate as the gasses escape from holes in the fabric.
Step-by-step explanation: