Ozone Is Named After Its Smell
Ozone is a form of oxygen with three atoms. Its name comes from the Greek for smell, because it was detected by nose first.
Ozone is a form of oxygen whose molecules contain three atoms rather than two. It was named for what gave it away: Greek *ozein* means to smell, and the sharp clean odour near electrical machinery led chemists to suspect a new substance before they could isolate it. The smell after a thunderstorm is ozone made by lightning. High in the atmosphere it blocks ultraviolet light and is essential; at ground level it is a pollutant that damages lungs.
- Three-atom oxygen. *The ozone molecule.*
- The ozone layer. *Damage to the ozone layer.*
- Ground-level ozone — a pollutant. *Ozone pollution.*
- Greek — *ozein*, to smell. *The source.*
- CFCs — what damaged the layer. *CFCs.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | ozone | Ozone. |
| Formula | O3 | O3. |
| Adjective | ozonic | Ozonic. |
| Compound | ozone layer | The ozone layer. |
| Greek | ozein | To smell. |
- Lightning produces ozone.The storm smell.
- The ozone layer blocks ultraviolet light.Atmosphere.
- At ground level it harms the lungs.Pollution.
Good ozone and bad ozone
- In the stratosphere — absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation
- At ground level — a component of smog that irritates lungs
- Same molecule, opposite effects depending on altitude
- The Montreal Protocol of 1987 phased out CFCs to protect the layer
- The hole over Antarctica has been slowly recovering since
German *Ozon*, coined in 1840 from Greek *ozein*, to smell, because of the gas's distinctive odour.
Why does the air smell after lightning?
Lightning splits oxygen molecules, which recombine as ozone. Its sharp smell is what gave the gas its name.
Is ozone good or bad?
Both. High in the atmosphere it shields us from ultraviolet light; at ground level it is a harmful pollutant.