Ozone
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Ozone is a chemical compound consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is represented by the symbol O3.
It is unstable at standard temperatures and pressures, and a powerful oxidizer. At the earth's surface it occurs naturally as a result of electrical discharges, most prominently, lightning. It is also created by man-made sparks, such as in an electrical motor.
In the stratosphere it serves a very important function, by acting to filter out most of the sun's ultraviolet radiation.
Some scientists have measured a thinning layer of ozone over the north and south poles resulting from chlorofluorocarbons, as they act as catalysts to break down the O3 molecules.[1]
- In April 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that ozone levels in the Northern Hemisphere shrank as much as 5 percent over the United States in the past 10 years.
- A minority opinion holds that ozone depletion has little to do with CFCs and that the ozone hole may be more natural than man-made. S. Fred Singer, an environmental scientist at the University of Virginia, has argued that a rise in methane or changes in the sun's cycle may affect ozone. He also believes the lack of historical data about ozone depletion makes it difficult to determine if similar changes occurred centuries before hairspray cans were invented. [1]