Instead of an airbag, why not just have your car battery switch on a high powered magnet to release a burst of negative magnetism? I don't think the battery would need too ridiculous but it would have to be very powerful.
I figure the higher power the magnet the more electricity it would draw but to only activate it for a short burst would not require as much energy. Impact, deceleration and other things will initiate the magnetism. I imagine that there would have to be some sort of detection mechanism so you don't send some poor biker flying through the air.
I think one way to avoid the magnets doing too much destruction would be to initiate a burst of negative magnetism and then send out positive magnetism maybe 20% of the strength to prevent sending things flying too far.
There would have to be some sort of short circuit to prevent the car's battery from completely dying. That way you can drive away from the crash, assuming the magnet worked.-- Duck Lagrange, Mar 10 2015 aeromovel http://www.aeromovel.com/technology.htmclick on the image near "safety features" [pashute, Mar 15 2015] //negative magnetism// There may be a problem with this.-- neutrinos_shadow, Mar 11 2015 I usually find magnet ideas to be attractive. This one is repulsive.-- AusCan531, Mar 11 2015 There aren't enough screwdrivers in this idea.-- Ling, Mar 11 2015 You can package a whole-width of the car air bag, with explosive inflation for a few of kg in weight. A massive elctromagnet will need a significant soft iron core, a whole massive copper coil and some fairly hefty cables and control gear. Let's say 50 kg. Now, you're about to crash into the back of a car, the magnet deploys, but the car in front is made of regular steel. Now you're accelerating toward the back of the car. So we need, coils front and back. Of every car.-- bs0u0155, Mar 11 2015 This is an excellent idea, apart from the bits between "H" and "5".-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 11 2015 It is spelled right.-- neelandan, Mar 11 2015 Why not have an anti-gravity button?-- xandram, Mar 11 2015 Anti-gravity is always on, the button would be rediculouse.-- pocmloc, Mar 11 2015 What if you make the electromagnet out of antimatter?-- Voice, Mar 11 2015 What's needed here is not a powerful anti-magnet, but a stupidly powerful normal magnet. Then you have to ensure that the car in front is made of water, or possibly frogs.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 11 2015 Magic; there's no such thing as "negative magnetism". However, if you use alternating current, you can (hypothetically) induce a current in the other car, and then repel that current's magnetic field.
Also, [marked-for-tagline]:
// What if you make the electromagnet out of antimatter? //
and maybe
// Why not have an anti-gravity button? //-- notexactly, Mar 11 2015 // there's no such thing as "negative magnetism" //
So you think ... <snigger>
// It is spelled right //
.... and it's not in "Other: General" ...-- 8th of 7, Mar 12 2015 //some sort of short circuit to prevent the car's battery from completely dying.//
Seems to be some misunderstanding in the space between //prevent// and "ensure"-- lurch, Mar 12 2015 Now now. Clearly, Max's stupidly powerful magnet could do the trick. All cars must be fitted with one. Adjacent to the stupdily powerful magnet would be mounted a coil.
As the cars approach head on, the approaching magnetic field on each car induces current in the coil, producing a magnetic field which will repulse the oncoming magnet. This would work regardless of whether you installed your stupidly powerful magnet north side out or south side out which is good because otherwise pranksters would always be flipping them around on parked cars. This is in principle the same effect as moving a gold sovereign by aggressively waving a magnet on it.
Thinking more on this: if one wants eddy currents maybe a large flat plate would be better than a coil.
Thinking more this stupidly powerful magnet could serve double duty by picking up ferrous road debris, if mounted low enough. I am sure there are other things it would be good for too.-- bungston, Mar 12 2015 //ferrous road debris//
You can sell that on for its scrap value. There's decent weight in manhole covers.-- bs0u0155, Mar 13 2015 (marked-for-tagline)
" It is spelled right "
" There would have to be some sort of short circuit "-- normzone, Mar 13 2015 It is spring... And the Rites of Spelling flow through the HB.-- popbottle, Mar 14 2015 How much "negative magnetism" would it take to keep my electric car from hitting that wooden telephone pole over there?
And what kinds of "other things" would initiate the magnetism? A small child running after a ball? A deer/skunk/raccoon/redneck? Another X-Men movie?-- Canuck, Mar 16 2015 random, halfbakery