Ozone Chemical Models Ozone Creation
Ozone is a strong absorber of lower energy ultraviolet radiation which can kill living organisms. This radiation is absorbed by the ozone layer when it breaks the ozone bonds. An oxygen atom is released, but it quickly recombines with another oxygen molecule to regenerate ozone. Ozone is very reactive. It easily loses the third oxygen atom in the presence of other highly reactive compounds called radicals, which contain chlorine, hydrogen, nitrogen, or bromine. Minute quantities of these radicals can cause large decreases in ozone because they are not consumed in the reaction. This is called a catalytic cycle.
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