Back in the spring of 2001 my friend the Chemist told me of his worry about airbags, and he had the same concerns as CraigS.

The typical airbag has 1.25 pounds of sodium azide in it, he said. Through a fairly simple process this could be converted about six pounds of... another substance, let's say.

The Chemist explained that both are explosives, but the other substance releases the nitrogen much faster. He called it, "The difference between a 'whoosh' and a 'ka-boom.'"

The Chemist said it was a terrorist's dream.