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Friday 2 December 2016

Ozone

Ozone is a pungent smelling blue gas.

HISTORY

In 1785, the Dutch chemist Martinus van Marum was conducting experiments involving electrical sparking above water when he noticed an unusual strong smell. He attributed the aroma to the electrical reactions, failing to realize that he had in fact created ozone.

Ozone was first isolated in 1839 by the German-Swiss chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein (October 18, 1799 – August 29, 1868) during experiments on the electrolysis of water at the University of Basel.

Schönbein named the pungent gas after the Greek for 'to smell' which is 'ozein'. For this reason, Schönbein is generally credited with the discovery of ozone.

Schönbein
The ozone smell Schönbein detected is the same as that occurring in the vicinity of a thunderstorm, an odor that indicates the presence of ozone in the atmosphere.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Ozone is formed from dioxygen by the action of ultraviolet light and also atmospheric electrical discharges.

It is present in low concentrations throughout the Earth's atmosphere and protects us from harmful UVB rays from the Sun.

One molecule of ozone consists of three oxygen atoms. A molecule of oxygen has only two atoms.

USAGE

Industrial uses of ozone include disinfection and the sanitizing of swimming pool water.

In the First World War, ozone was used to treat gangrene and trench foot and to disinfect wounds.

Ozone production demonstration, Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory, 1926

Ozone generators are used to produce ozone for cleaning air or removing smoke odors in unoccupied rooms.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Good ozone is ozone in the ozone layer of the atmosphere, 10-20 miles high, It absorbs most of the sun's ultraviolet radiation, which protects us and many other life forms from its potentially damaging effects.

The hole in the ozone layer was discovered above the Antarctic in 1985.

The Montreal Protocol to ban ozone-depleting chemicals such as CFCs was signed in 1989.

The United Nations General Assembly in 1994 designated September 16 as International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

Despite its beneficial effect in the atmosphere, low-level ozone does more harm than good. A component of smog, it can lead to breathing disorders and chest pain.

Harmful ground-level ozone is produced by a variety of sources, including car and truck exhausts and natural gas production.

Total ozone concentration in June 2000 as measured by EP-TOMS satellite instrument


Latest results show that the ozone hole over Antarctica is showing signs of shrinking as a result of the ban on the use of CFCs.

Source Daily Express

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