How do seatbelts or airbags function to make impacts safer, based on the momentum perspective?
Answer
By extending the stopping time ($ ext{ extDelta t}$), which reduces the required force ($ ext{F}$).
Safety devices work by extending the stopping time interval ($ ext{ extDelta t}$) during a collision. Since the total change in momentum must be the same, extending $ ext{ extDelta t}$ reduces the required instantaneous force ($ ext{F}$) needed to achieve that change.
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