Final answer:
Airbags are a safety feature in vehicles that minimize injuries to passengers during a collision by reducing the impact force. Manufacturers deploy airbags using a chemical reaction with sodium azide to rapidly inflate them with gas.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of vehicles, manufacturers refer to air bags as a safety feature designed to minimize serious injuries to passengers in the event of a collision.
When a vehicle detects a collision, an electrical current is passed through a measured amount of sodium azide (NaN3) to initiate a chemical reaction that rapidly inflates the airbag with an appropriate amount of gas.
The deployment of airbags allows the force on the occupants to act over a longer time, reducing the impact force acting on them.