Ozone 101: Using Oxygen Molecules for Odor Removal
Ozone: noun \’ō,zōn\: a colorless gas with a pungent odor and powerful oxidizing properties, formed from oxygen by electrical discharges or ultraviolet light. It differs from normal oxygen (O2) in having three atoms in its molecule (O3).
In chemistry, we represent elements with letters (for example “O” stands for the element “oxygen”), and the small numbers to the lower-right of the element indicate the number of atoms of that element in the molecule. For example, O2 represents a molecule that consists of two oxygen atoms, which is the stable form of “regular” oxygen. O3 represents a molecule that consists of three oxygen atoms, which is the unstable form of oxygen called ozone.
Ozone has existed on Earth for as long as oxygen has been here — about 500 million years. It has existed in our universe for billions of years. Wherever oxygen comes into contact with an electric arc, such as lightning and/or a particular wavelength of ultraviolet rays, like those from the sun around which the planet orbits, ozone will be created.