Ozone

“ And the oxygen of the hill-tops is purer, keener, rarer, more ethereal. It is rich in ozone. Now, ozone stands to common oxygen itself as the clean-cut metal to the dull and leaden exposed surface. Nascent and ever renascent, it has electrical attraction; it leaps to the embrace of the atom it selects, but only under the influence of powerful affinities; and what it clasps once, it clasps for ever. That is the pure air which we drink in on the heather-clad heights—not the venomous air of the crowded casino, nor even the close air of the middle-class parlour. It thrills and nerves us. ”

“ Thus, judging by what has been said above, ozone should he formed in nature not only in the many processes of oxidation which go on, but also by the condensation of atmospheric oxygen. The significance of ozone in nature has often arrested the attention of observers. ”

“ When the sky is darkened with clouds, there is more ozone than when it is clear. Before thunder-storms, or while they are at a distance, ozone, like electricity, increases, and various changes and fluctuations may occur during the progress of the storm.
Summing up in a few words, we may say that atmospheric ozone is more abundant during the winter and spring, because in those seasons there is much rain, snow, hail, and wind, a low temperature, and a maximum of electricity. During these seasons, also, there is little decomposition going on in the vegetable world. ”

“ Each took one, and Cobb laid the box aside.
Soon the clouds of smoke rising to the ceiling renewed the scene of warmth and sociability which had prevailed before the uncorking of the bottle of ozone.
“You, gentlemen,” said Cobb, drawing his chair [20] to the fire, and taking a seat near the others, “have seen pure ozone in its solid state, and you both have felt its effect. It is the life-giving principle of oxygen. Ozone is everywhere; in the air, of course; in all creation, in fact. ”

“ In the summer and autumn, atmospheric ozone is least abundant, because, during these seasons, there is no snow, or hail, less wind, rain, high temperature, a minimum of electricity, and a great amount of decomposition of animal and vegetable matter, by which the air becomes polluted, and is neutralizing and purifying while the ozone is consumed. ”

“ It will be seen that ozone is at its minimum when the sun is at the zenith, and its maximum about sunrise and sunset. It varies with atmospheric conditions, as electricity, rain, fog, thunder-storms, snow, wind, clouds, halos, and auroras, eclipses, etc. ”

“ It is however indisputable [13] that the amount of ozone in the atmosphere is subject to variation; that the air of dwellings contains no ozone (it disappears in oxidising organic matter) ; that the air of fields and forests always contains ozone, or substances (peroxide of hydrogen) which act like it (on iodised starch paper &c.) [13 bis] ; that the amount of ozone increases after storms; and that miasms, &c., are destroyed by ozonising the atmosphere. ”

“ Moreover, direct examination of the air by more accurate methods—including samples collected with the aid of kites and balloons up to a height of several thousand feet above the earth—shows that the amount of ozone in the whole of the lower atmosphere is exceedingly small—much too small to be of hygienic significance. ”

“ Lavender, fennel, mint, clove, and cherry-laurel, evolve ozone with special abundance when exposed to the solar rays. It is believed that the oxidation of essential oils, as anise-seed, bergamot, etc., under exposure to the light and air, develops ozone, and that in all flowers the source of the ozone is the essence ”

“ Some interesting researches appear to show the probability that ozone is simply oxygen in a state of high activity. It has been found, indeed, that perfectly dry oxygen, which will not bleach vegetable colours in the dark, acquires, by exposure to sunshine, the power of destroying them. ”

“ Ozone (Greek, ozo, I smell) is highly electrified oxygen, in which the molecules are broken up and reformed so as to contain additional atoms. It is formed by the disruptive discharge of lightning and by the great amount of electricity present in the high levels of the atmosphere, and possibly in minute quantities by the evaporation of fog and water near the earth. It is always found in the presence of waterfalls and spraying fountains. It is a powerful sanitary agent, readily entering into union with decaying matter. ”

“ Ozone is a most energetic body, and a powerful bleaching agent; if a point is attached to the prime conductor of an electrical machine, and the electrified air is received into a bottle, it will be found to smell, and has the power of bleaching a very dilute solution of indigo. Ozone [Pg 102] is not a mere creation of fancy, as it can not only be produced by certain methods, but may be destroyed by a red heat. ”

“ In the first place, the air coming into the house from the back will be more or less filtered from the grimy irritant particles with which our London atmosphere is loaded, besides obtaining the oxygen given off by the growing plants, and the ozone which recent investigations have shown to be produced where aromatic plants—such as kitchen herbs—are growing. ”

“ When the atmospheric pressure is decreasing, when with that there is increasing warmth and moisture, and when south and southwesterly winds prevail, then ozone is active; but when the atmospheric pressure is increasing, when the air is becoming dry and cold, and north and northeasterly winds prevail, then the presence of ozone is less active. ”

“ As regards the sanitary value of flowers, Mantegazza, of Pavia, states that ozone is generated in larger quantities by certain plants possessing spicy aromatic odours, than by the action of electricity upon the air. He says that in some plants this ozone is developed by the direct rays of the sun, whilst in others the action, once begun in solar light, is continued in darkness; and that cherry-laurel, clove, lavender, mint, lemon, fennel, narcissus, heliotrope, hyacinth, mignonette, &c., all produce ozone largely on exposure to the rays of the sun. ”

“ Should water not be available, it should rest in the centre of a hole 15 feet deep and 10 inches in diameter, tightly packed with charcoal, which, while conducting the electricity from the rod into the earth, serves also to preserve the iron from rusting.
OZONE. The atmosphere, besides holding the vapour of water diffused throughout its mass, contains also minute traces of carbonic acid and ammonia, and a very remarkable substance called Ozone. Oxygen, one of the component gases of the atmosphere, is capable of existing in two conditions ”

“ The admixture of nitrogen, or even of hydrogen, and especially of silicon fluoride, appears to aid the formation and preservation of ozone. Amongst other methods for preparing ozone we may mention the following: 1. In the action of oxygen on phosphorus at the ordinary temperature a portion of the oxygen is converted into ozone. At the ordinary temperature a stick of phosphorus, partially immersed in water and partially in air in a large glass vessel, causes the air to acquire the odour of ozone. ”

“ Many nervous and other diseases and very many nervous sensations are perceptibly affected by changes in the quantity of electricity and ozone. Making the necessary concession that the subject of the relation of atmosphere to health is one of many complications, still we are now in a position to claim with considerable positiveness that a part of the benefit or injury that is derived from change of climate, or from the various atmospheric changes, is the result of variations in the amount of ozone and electricity. ”

“ Ozone can be produced by hanging a piece of moist phosphorus in a room; and it is stated by Dr. Daubeny, that part of the oxygen given out by plants, especially by scented flowering plants, is in the condition of ozone. A small quantity is produced when an electrical machine is worked; its presence is evidenced by a peculiar smell (the name ozone is derived from the Greek word for smell) .
Test of Ozone in Air.—Traces of ozone in air are detected by exposing strips of blotting paper moistened with a mixture of a solution of potassic iodide and starch. ”

“ The amount of ozone is less in towns than in the open country at the same elevation; and less at inland than at sea-side stations.” It seems to abound most with winds from the sea, and to be most prevalent where the air is considered the purest and most salubrious. This may seem, says Admiral FitzRoy, in The Weather Book, to point to a connection between ozone and chlorine gas, which is in and over sea-water, and which must be brought by any wind that blows from the sea. It prevails more over the ocean and near it than over land, especially land remote from the sea ”

“ The mechanical theory of heat teaches us only that at rising temperatures products are formed whose formation goes hand in hand with an absorption of heat. Thus, at a high temperature, ozone is formed from oxygen, although ozone is more complex in composition than oxygen, and by this reaction 750 calories are consumed when one gramme of oxygen is transformed into one gramme of ozone. We likewise know that in the electric arc, at a temperature of about 3000°, a compound is formed under consumption of heat by the oxygen and nitrogen of the atmosphere. ”

“ And not only is it found that country air contains more ozone than town air, but it is found that air which has come from the sea has more ozone than even355 the country air, while air in the crowded parts of large cities has no ozone at all, nor has the air of inhabited rooms. ”

“ It parts with its third atom as in the mercury experiment, and so loses its distinctive peculiarity. Thus we might be led to anticipate the results which come next to be considered.
Ozone has certain work to do, and in doing that work is transmuted into oxygen. It follows, then, that where there has been much work for ozone to do, there we shall find little ozone left in the air. Hence, in open spaces where there is little decomposing matter, we should expect to find more ozone than in towns or cities. ”

“ Chlorine is a gas which cannot be inhaled, and ozone presents the same features, as a mouse confined for a short time with an excess of ozone soon died; but ozone is the extraordinary condition of oxygen; the element in the ordinary state is harmless, and is the one which enters so largely into the composition of the air we breathe. ”

“ Ozone in the Atmosphere.—Ozone, like electricity, exists normally in the atmosphere, but varies in amount in different localities at different seasons and in different hours of the day, and is considerably dependent on various meteorological conditions. ”

“ The amount is greater over the sea than over the land, probably due to the absence of oxidizable matter, which allows the ozone to accumulate over the water. It is more abundant with westerly than with easterly winds, due to the fact that westerly winds have a downward component of motion ”

“ Repeated experiments made both by the Government and local experts show that our air contains nothing deleterious—nothing but ozone, sir, pure ozone. Litmus paper tests made all along the river show—but you can read it all in the prospectuses; or the Santonian will recite it for you, word by word.
We may achieve climate, but weather is thrust upon us. Santone, then, cannot be blamed for this cold gray fog that came and kissed the lips of the three thousand, and then delivered them to the cross. That night the tubercles, whose ravages hope holds in check, multiplied. ”

“ Ozone soon begins to be formed, as shewn by the rising of a light column of smoke from the phosphorus, which, at the same time, becomes luminous. In five or six hours, the quantity will be abundant, when the bottle is to be emptied of its contents, washed out, and closed for use and experiment.
Whichever way the ozone be produced, it is always identical in its properties; and these are described as numerous and remarkable. Its odour is peculiar, resembling that of chlorine, and, when diluted, cannot be distinguished from what is called the electric smell. ”

“ Ozone--I rave about it; it is the genus of oxygen. Where it refuses the power of attraction to the latter, ozone can still work. That is the higher spirit or life! All passion is ozone; it is my element!"
Olga, who had noticed that Paul was fond of imparting instruction, enquired as to the origin and nature of ozone, and in return, after a lengthy explanation, received praise for her daily augmenting thirst for knowledge.
After the close of the lecture, and when several more experiments had taken place, Kuhl conducted his visitor into the study. ”

“ By its means organic impurities become oxidised, and thus rendered harmless. It is probable that much of this oxidation is effected by means of ozone—a peculiarly active and concentrated form of oxygen. A large part of this ozone is probably produced during thunderstorms and similar electrical disturbances of the atmosphere. The ammonia and organic impurities in air become changed into nitrites and nitrates—chiefly of ammonium—and being washed down by rain, form an important part of the food of plants.
5. For Chemical Measures of purification of the atmosphere see page 324. ”

“ Are jobs more important than life itself?
In November, 1980, a group of physicians and scientists held a symposium at the University of California in Berkeley. At this symposium Dr. Kosta Tsipis, Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, stated,
. . . our earth is surrounded by a thin layer or ozone. Ozone is a particular isotope of oxygen that has the lovely property of absorbing much of the ultraviolet rays of the sun. The ultraviolet rays of the sun are the ones that cause skin burns. When you go to the beach and you get sunburned, that's what does it. ”