Ozone Layer and CFCs

Also called

ozone layer · ozone · O3 · ozone depletion · ozone hole · CFC · chlorofluorocarbons · ultraviolet radiation · UV rays · stratosphere · Antarctica ozone hole · Montreal Protocol · skin cancer UV · refrigerants · aerosol sprays · ओज़ोन परत · पराबैंगनी किरणें · क्लोरोफ्लोरोकार्बन

Topics

• Ozone, O₃, is a molecule of three oxygen atoms. High in the stratosphere it forms a layer about 15–35 km up.
• Ultraviolet light splits O₂ into two free oxygen atoms; each atom joins another O₂ to make O₃ ozone.
• The ozone layer absorbs most of the Sun’s harmful UV, which otherwise causes skin cancer, cataracts and crop damage.
• CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) from fridges, aerosol sprays and foams are stable gases that slowly rise to the stratosphere.
• UV breaks a chlorine atom off a CFC; chlorine destroys ozone (Cl + O₃ → ClO + O₂) and is set free again to repeat it.
• One chlorine atom can destroy many thousands of ozone molecules before it is finally removed.
• In 1985 scientists reported a sharp drop in ozone over Antarctica every spring: the ozone hole.
• The Montreal Protocol (UNEP, 1987) phased out CFC production; the ozone layer is slowly recovering.

About this model

A GLB file of about 591 KB, shown in Lably's 3D viewer and, on a phone, placed in your room with AR. Credit: Model, science and animation: Lably (built procedurally with three.js; no downloaded meshes). | CC BY 4.0. Original geometry and animation made for Lably.

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