propellant • \prə-ˈpe-lənt\ • noun and adjective
noun: any substance that propels
adjective: tending to or capable of propelling
The word propellant has appeared in 43 New York Times articles in the past year, including on May 13 in “Hawaii Sues Takata, Alleging Cover-Up of Airbag Defect” by Hiroko Tabuchi:
Hawaii took the Japanese auto parts maker Takata to court on Friday, accusing it of covering up a deadly airbag defect and demanding a $10,000 penalty for every affected car owner in Hawaii.
… Hawaii’s lawsuit says that its residents are at particular risk because of the state’s high temperatures and humidity levels. Auto safety regulators have determined that long-term exposure to moisture and temperature fluctuations over time can degrade the explosives, or propellant, used to deploy the airbag, making it more unstable and prone to cause the airbag’s interior to rupture.
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