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Where Does Ozone Come From?
Ozone is created in nature and can also be created by machines
called ozone generators.
Natural Ozone
In
nature, Ozone is created near the edge up space when Ultraviolet
Radiation (UV) coming from the sun makes contact with the oxygen
in the atmosphere. The energy from the UV is imparted to the
oxygen and turns some of the oxygen (O2) into Ozone (O3). The
layer of Ozone that is created is referred to as “The
Ozone Layer”. The Ozone Layer is not only created by
UV’s interaction with oxygen, but it also protects the
Earth from UV rays coming from the sun. If it was not for the
Ozone Layer, life as we know it would not exist on planet Earth.
Ozone is also created here at ground level, in many different
places and by different processes. For example Ozone is created
when UV light from the sun interacts with water spray and foam
in waves. It is also created by water falls. Have you ever wondered
why the air smells so fresh by the sea side or by a water fall?
It is because there is ozone in the air in these areas.
Isn’t ozone “smog”? So isn’t’ ozone
toxic?
On hot days in cities they always report the
smog levels. If the smog levels are high they warn elderly
and those of ill health
to stay indoors. How do they measure the smog levels? The problem
with smog is that ‘smog’ is actually a complex ever
changing mixture of toxic gasses and particles. Since the constituents
of smog are changing all the time, it is very difficult to measure
it accurately. Early on it was noted that when smog levels are
high, it is accompanied by a high level of ozone in the air.
When smog levels are low, there is a low level of ozone in the
air. We can all thank Mother Nature for the Ozone, as it is there
to destroy (oxidize) the toxic chemicals in smog and return the
air to a breathable status. But since ozone is so easy to measure,
scientists gave up trying to measure smog and instead rely on
ozone levels to indicate how much smog is in the air. Since they
are measuring ozone levels, the word “Ozone” became
synonymous with ‘smog’ and everyone gets the idea
that ozone is toxic (which of course, it is not)..
Ozone is also created by thunderstorms. The lightning you see
in the sky is a discharge of energy that had been building in
the thundercloud. When the lightning bolt contacts the air, some
of the oxygen (O2) in the air is turned into Ozone (O3). That
fresh clean smell you experience during and after a thunderstorm
is actually the smell of ozone.
Ozone Made by Machines.
In the late 1800’s it was found that ozone could be made
artificially by exposing air to. The more energy you exposed
the air to, the more ozone you can create. The machine used to
create the ozone was simply referred to as an ‘ozone generator’.
There a thousands of different ozone generators on the market,
and hundreds of different ways to design and build them. They
typically use two different types of technologies to generate
the ozone: UV (Ultraviolet Radiation) and an electrical discharge
method commonly referred to as Corona Discharge. While UV is
simple to understand and use, the applications are limited due
to the relatively low ozone output capabilities of a UV ozone
generator. Since Medical Ozone Therapy requires relatively high ozone concentrations, the UV Technology is therefore usually reserved for very light water
purification or air purification. Higher concentrations of ozone
are available from the Corona Discharge technologies, but because
there are hundreds of very different Corona Discharge technologies,
they are more difficulat to understand. The difficulty in understanding
how they work, makes it more difficult for the average consumer
to know if they are purchasing the proper ozone generator, or
not.
Because of the complexities of ozone generators it would be
best if you read as much as you can before making a purchase. If you wish to know more about how an ozone
generator works, and which ones are suitable for your application,
you should first investigate all of the Corona Discharge technologies,
make sure you know if the proper technology is in the ozone generator
that you are considering purchasing. You must also ensure that the ozone, when inside the machine, does not come into contact with any components that are plastic, rubber, or metal, otherwise the ozone that is produced could be toxic. You also need to ensure that the ozone generator produces the proper ozone concentrations, or strengths of ozone, otherwise it simply will not work for you.
Next: Basic Fact 3 - What Does Ozone Do? Where can it be used?
