Cuando "estudiamos" aerodinámica para obtener nuestra licencia, generalmente escuchamos algunas tonterías,

como esa tan repetida de que al chocar con el borde de ataque, las moléculas de aire se separan y las que pasan
sobre el ala se aceleran porque deben recorrer mayor distancia para llegar al borde de salida al mismo tiempo
que las pasan por abajo. Parapsicología pura.

Realmente ¿cuánto se acelera el aire al pasar sobre el ala? Más de lo que generalmente suponemos. Según John
Anderson, aerodinamicista del Museo Nacional de la Ciencia y el Espacio de Estados Unidos, en un avión en
crucero a cien nudos, las moléculas de aire más cercanas a la superficie del ala alcanzan más de doscientos
nudos. Esta aceleración produce una diminuta reducción de presión (Bernoulli) de apenas unos cuantos gramos
por centímetro cuadrado que es suficiente, dada la superficie del ala, para generar del 75 al 80% de la
sustentación en un avión ligero. El 20 a25% restante es producido por un pequeño aumento de presión
(Newton) en la cara inferior del ala, debido al impacto de las moléculas de aire contra ella.

El diseño del ala curvada por arriba no es nuevo. Algunos perfiles fueron patentados por Phillips hace más de
doscientos años, pero realmente los estudios serios se hicieron en la segunda década de nuestro siglo. Aviones
relativamente modernos como el Cessna Citation y el Beech King Air, usan perfiles diseñados entonces. Estos
perfiles permiten que un ala genere sustentación incluso a pequeños ángulos de ataque negativos.

En aviones con flaps de bisagra que obviamente no "curvan" el ala visualmente, la impresión que recibimos al
bajarlos es que al presentar mayor superficie contra el viento relativo, crean mayor sustentación por el impacto;
pero la realidad es que aún en estos casos, el incremento de sustentación es principalmente derivado de un
aumento aerodinámico en la curvatura del ala, que hace que se aceleren aun más las moléculas de aire más
cercanas a la superficie.

En los aviones acrobáticos que usan alas de perfil simétrico, la "curvatura" es aumentada de modo similar a
como lo hacen los flaps: incrementando el ángulo de ataque. La sustentación generada no es tan grande como
en un perfil asimétrico, pero a cambio es igualmente buena en vuelo invertido.

Bernoulli le saca ventaja a Newton en cada análisis de sustentación, excepto en el final. Si un avión vuela, en
última instancia, es por la misma razón que un helicóptero (aunque no resulte tan obvio): porque desplaza
grandes volúmenes de aire hacia el suelo (no hay gran diferencia entre el perfil de una pala y el de un ala), y fue
Newton el que estableció que a toda acción se opone una reacción de igual magnitud y sentido opuesto.
Los modelos de las alas han ido evolucionando:

El manejo de una aeronave se basa en un panel de control como este:

En la exposición a Power Point se expondrá oralmente y con un vídeo bastante claro de éste arte.

En éste se explicarán todos movimientos y los pedales para la conducción, eso sí correcta, de la aeronave.
Los aviones son el medio de transporte más seguro, más rápido, más cómodo, más de todo; en un medio
de transporte que lo da todo.
 Atmosphere layers
The Earth's atmosphere contains several different layers that can be defined according
to air temperature. Figure 1 displays these layers in an average atmosphere. According
to temperature, the atmosphere contains four different layers. The first layer is called the
troposphere. The depth of this layer varies from about 8 to 16 kilometers. Greatest
depths occur at the tropics where warm temperatures cause vertical expansion of the
lower atmosphere. From the tropics to the Earth's Polar Regions the troposphere
becomes gradually thinner. The depth of this layer at the poles is roughly half as thick
when compared to the tropics. Average depth of the troposphere is approximately 11
kilometers as displayed in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Vertical change in average global atmospheric temperature. Variations in the way
temperature changes with height indicates the atmosphere is composed of a number of different
layers (labeled above). These variations are due to changes in the chemical and physical
characteristics of the atmosphere with altitude. (Source: PhysicalGeography.net)
About 80 % of the total mass of the atmosphere is contained in troposphere. It is also
the layer where the majority of our weather occurs (Figure 2). Maximum air temperature
also occurs near the Earth's surface in this layer. With increasing height, air temperature
drops uniformly with altitude at a rate of approximately 6.5° Celsius per 1000 meters.
This phenomenon is commonly called the Environmental Lapse Rate. At an average
temperature of -56.5° Celsius, the top of the troposphere is reached. At the upper edge
of the troposphere is a narrow transition zone known as the tropopause.
Above the tropopause is the stratosphere. This layer extends from an average altitude of
11 to 50 kilometers above the Earth's surface. This stratosphere contains about 19.9  %
of the total mass found in the atmosphere. Very little weather occurs in the stratosphere.
Occasionally, the top portions of thunderstorms breach this layer. The lower portion of
the stratosphere is also influenced by the polar jet stream and subtropical jet stream. In
the first 9 kilometers of the stratosphere, temperature remains constant with height. A
zone with constant temperature in the atmosphere is called an isothermal layer. From an
altitude of 20 to 50 kilometers, temperature increases with an increase in altitude. The
higher temperatures found in this region of the stratosphere occurs because of a
localized concentration of ozone gas molecules. These molecules absorb ultraviolet
sunlight creating heat energy that warms the stratosphere.Ozone is primarily found in
the atmosphere at varying concentrations between the altitudes of 10 to 50 kilometers.
This layer of ozone is also called the ozone layer. The ozone layer is important to
organisms at the Earth's surface as it protects them from the harmful effects of the sun's
ultraviolet radiation. Without the ozone layer life could not exist on the Earth's surface.

Figure 2: Most of our planet's weather occurs in the troposphere. This image shows a view of this layer from an
airplane's window (Photo © 2004 Edward Tsang).

Separating the mesosphere from the stratosphere is a transition zone called the stratopause. In the
mesosphere, the atmosphere reaches its coldest temperatures (about -90° Celsius) at a height of
approximately 80 kilometers. At the top of the mesosphere is another transition zone known as
the mesopause.
The last atmospheric layer has an altitude greater than 80 kilometers and is called the
thermosphere. Temperatures in this layer can be as high as 1200°C. These high temperatures are
generated from the absorption of intense solar radiation by oxygen molecules (O2). While these
temperatures seem extreme, the amount of heat energy involved is very small. The amount of
heat stored in a substance is controlled in part by its mass. The air in the thermosphere is
extremely thin with individual gas molecules being separated from each other by large distances.
Consequently, measuring the temperature of thermosphere with a thermometer is a very difficult
process. Thermometers measure the temperature of bodies via the movement of heat energy.
Normally, this process takes a few minutes for the conductive transfer of kinetic energy from
countless molecules in the body of a substance to the expanding liquid inside the thermometer. In
the thermosphere, our thermometer would lose more heat energy from radiative emission then
what it would gain from making occasional contact with extremely hot gas molecules.

Temperature

A Galileo thermometer consists of a sealed glass cylinder filled with a transparent liquid
and containing a number objects of varying densities. These objects rise or fall as the
temperature of the liquid in changes. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons).
 Temperature and Heat

Temperature is a measure of the intensity or degree of hotness in a body.

Temperature and heat are not the same phenomenon. Technically, temperature is
determined by getting the average speed of a body's molecules. Heat is a measure of
the quantity of heat energy present in a body. The spatial distribution of temperature in a
body determines heat flow. Heat always flows from warmer to colder areas
.

Table 1: Heat energy required to raise two different quantities of water 5° Celsius.
Mass of the Water Starting Temperature Ending Temperature Heat Required
5 grams 20° Celsius 25° Celsius 25 Calories of Heat
25 grams 20° Celsius 25° Celsius 125 Calories of Heat
 

The heat held in an object depends not only on its temperature but also its mass. For
example, let us compare the heating of two different masses of water (Table 1). In this
example, one mass has a weight of 5 grams, while the other is 25 grams. If the
temperature of both masses is raised from 20 to 25° Celsius, the larger mass of water
will require five times more heat energy for this increase in temperature. This larger
mass would also contain 5 times more stored heat energy.

Temperature Scales

A number of measurement scales have been invented to measure temperature. Table 2

describes important temperatures for the three dominant scales in use today.

Table 2: Temperature of absolute zero, the ice point of water, and the
stream point of water using various temperature measurement scales.
Measurement Steam Point of Water Ice Point of Water Absolute Zero
Fahrenheit 212 32 -460
Celsius 100 0 -273
Kelvin 373 273 0
 
Figure 1: Comparison of the Fahrenheit, Celsius and Kelvin temperature scales. (Source: NASA).

The most commonly used scale for measuring temperature is the Celsius system (Figure 1). The
Celsius scale was developed in 1742 by the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius. In this system,
the melting point of ice was given a value of 0, the boiling point of water a value of 100, and
absolute zero a value of -273.
The Fahrenheit system is a temperature scale that is used exclusively in the United States. This
system was created by German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit in 1714. In this scale, the melting
point of ice has a value of 32, water boils at 212, and absolute zero has a temperature of -460.

The Kelvin scale was proposed by British physicist Lord Kelvin in 1848. This system is often
used by scientists because its temperature readings begin at absolute zero and due to the fact that
this scale is proportional to the amount of heat energy found in an object. The Kelvin scale
assigns a value of 273 for the melting temperature of ice, while the boiling point of water occurs
at 373. 

 
 Conversión of Temperature Scales

Measurement of Air Temperature

A thermometer is a device that is used to measure temperature. Thermometers consist
of a sealed hollow glass tube filled with some type of liquid. Thermometers measure
temperature by the change in the volume of the liquid as it responds to the addition or
loss of heat energy from the environment immediately outside its surface. When heat is
added, the liquid inside the thermometer expands. Cooling causes the liquid to contract.
Meteorological thermometers are often filled with either alcohol or mercury. Alcohol
thermometers are favored in very cold environments because of this liquid's low freezing
point (-112° Celsius).
By international agreement, the nations of the world have decided to measure
temperature in a similar fashion. This standardization is important for the accurate
generation of weather maps and forecasts, both of which depend on having data
determined in a uniform way. Weather stations worldwide try to determine minimum and
maximum temperatures for each and every day. By averaging these two values, daily
mean temperatures are also calculated. Many stations also take temperature readings
on the hour. Temperature measurements are determined by thermometers designed
and approved by the World Meteorological Organization. These instruments are housed
in specially designed instrument shelters that allow for the standardization of
measurements taken anywhere on the Earth (Figures 2, 3 and 4).
Figure 2: Stevenson Screen meteorological instrument shelters. These shelters are
typically made of wood, painted white, and have louvered sides. They also are elevated
to height of about 1.5 meters (about 4.5 feet) by a wooden or metal base. Some
instrument shelters have an electric fan attached to them for better air circulation in the
instrument box during light wind conditions. (Image Copyright: Michael Pidwirny).
Figure 3: Thermometers found inside the instrument shelter are mounted approximate
1.5 meters above the ground surface. The top thermometer contains alcohol and is used
to determine daily minimum temperatures. The lower thermometer uses mercury to
determine the daily maximum temperature. (Image Copyright: Michael Pidwirny).
 

Citation
The meter is the unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). It is one of the
seven SI base units. The origins of the meter go back to at least the 18th century. At that
time, there were two competing approaches to the definition of a standard unit of length.
Some suggested defining the meter as the length of a pendulum having a half-period of
one second; others suggested defining the meter as one ten-millionth of the length of
the Earth's meridian along a quadrant (one-fourth the circumference of the Earth). In
1791, soon after the French Revolution, the French Academy of Sciences chose the
meridian definition over the pendulum definition because the force of gravity varies
slightly over the surface of the Earth, affecting the period of the pendulum.
Thus, the meter was intended to equal 10 -7 or one ten-millionth of the length of the
meridian through Paris from pole to the equator. However, the first prototype was short
by 0.2 millimeters because researchers miscalculated the flattening of the Earth due to
its rotation. Still this length became the standard. In 1889, a new international prototype
was made of an alloy of platinum with 10 percent iridium, to within 0.0001, that was to
be measured at the melting point of ice. In 1927, the meter was more precisely defined
as the distance, at 0°, between the axes of the two central lines marked on the bar of
platinum-iridium kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), and
declared Prototype of the meter by the 1stGeneral Conference on Weights and
Measures (CGPM), this bar being subject to standard atmospheric pressure and
supported on two cylinders of at least one centimeter diameter, symmetrically placed in
the same horizontal plane at a distance of 571 mm from each other.

Engraving of the casting of the platinum-iridium alloy called the '1874 Alloy.'

The 1889 definition of the meter, based upon the artifact international prototype of
platinum-iridium, was replaced by the CGPM in 1960 using a definition based upon a
wavelength of krypton-86 radiation. This definition was adopted in order to reduce the
uncertainty with which the meter may be realized. In turn, to further reduce the
uncertainty, in 1983 the CGPM replaced this latter definition by the following definition:

The meter is the length of the path traveled by light in vacuum during a time
interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second.
Note that the effect of this definition is to fix the speed of light in vacuum at exactly 299
792 458 m·s-1. The original international prototype of the meter, which was sanctioned
by the 1st CGPM in 1889, is still kept at the BIPM under the conditions specified in
1889.
 Citation
Ozone
 

Table 1. Reaction scheme for OH radical formation.

Ozone is a gas made up of three oxygen atoms (O3). It occurs naturally in small (trace) amounts
in the upper atmosphere (the stratosphere). Ozone protects life on Earth from the Sun’s ultraviolet
(UV) radiation. In the lower atmosphere (the troposphere) near the Earth’s surface, ozone is
created by chemical reactions between air pollutants from vehicle exhaust, motor gasoline
vapors, and other emissions. At ground level, high concentrations of ozone are toxic to people
and plants.
The word ozone comes from the Greek "ozein" meaning "to smell", and ozone has a
characteristic odor that you can detect around high-voltage discharges. A few examples are a
photocopy machine, a television or a thunderstorm.

Formation of Ozone in the Troposphere and Stratosphere

Table 2. Oxidation of methane to formaldehyde.

Formation of ozone (O3) is very different in the troposphere and stratosphere.

The formation in the troposphere of ozone and related compounds, such as Peroxy-Acetyl Nitrate
(PAN) (see Impact of ozone on health and vegetation) is the result of reactions between nitrogen
oxides and hydrocarbons. For an overview of global nitrogen oxide and volatile organic
compound emissions, see Air pollution emissions.
Volatile organic compounds, such as hydrocarbons and halocarbons, together with nitrogen oxide
and solar light, react to ozone and otherair pollutants. The light is needed because OH-radicals
are, to a large extent, formed out of ozone and the initial step in ozone formation is the reaction of
an OH-radical with a hydrocarbon. 
Through this process, organic compounds are oxidized and eventually form carbon dioxide
and water. Not only ozone and peroxides, but also extra OH radicals, are formed.
The compound chosen here to describe this process is methane, because it is simplest, but in
principle all hydrocarbons follow this chain of reaction. Methane is converted first to
formaldehyde, then oxidized tocarbon monoxide, and finally to carbon dioxide. 

Table 3. Oxidation of formaldehyde to carbon monoxide and finally

carbon dioxide.
In the process, four HO2• radicals are formed. The role of nitrogen oxides is to form back the
OH• species. nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) are, depending on the
amount of light, in equilibrium. The result is a net production of four ozone molecules. Two extra
OH• molecules are generated and, importantly, the original NO molecules have reformed. In this
process, nitrogen oxides act as a catalyst, not as a reagent, and one nitrogen oxide can form many
ozone molecules until it disappears, mainly by conversion to nitric acid. 

Table 4. Conversion of HO2 to OH radicals.

The oxidation of hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water has environmental advantages; this
mechanism is responsible for the destruction of toxic organic compounds that would otherwise be
a much greater hazard than at present, because their lifetimes in the environment would be much
longer.
At higher altitudes, in the stratosphere, high concentrations of ozone are present and this ozone is
produced by a different mechanism (see Figure 1).

Oxygen molecules, O2, are split by shortwave UV and the resulting oxygen atoms react
with oxygen molecules to form ozone (see Figure 2).

Figure 1. Ozone concentration in ppm (1 ozone molecule per 1 million air

molecules) as function of height.
This ozone absorbs most of the shortwave UV radiation present in the totalsolar radiation. This
UV absorption heats the stratosphere. In fact, all UV-C (wavelength < 290 nm) radiation and a
large part of UV-B (wavelength 290 to 320 nm) radiation is absorbed.
Going up in the troposphere, the temperature drops as a function of adiabatic expansion
(temperature in a gas goes down if the pressure is lowered without heat exchange) and less heat
transport from the surface (see Figure 3). The surface is heated by solar radiation and this heat
from the surface is redistributed in the troposphere by turbulent transport, when the heated
surface creates turbulent eddies. This transport is smaller further away from the surface. A
temperature minimum of –50 to –80°C is reached at the tropopause.

Figure 2. Formation of ozone in the stratosphere.

The height of the tropopause varies with latitude. Due to much higher solar fluxes, the tropopause
is at a height of 17 km in the tropics and about 10 km in the polar regions. The warmer, lighter air
sitting atop the relatively colder troposphere prevents easy mixing of tropospheric air with
stratospheric air, hence the name tropopause.

Looking closely at Figure 1, a small hump in ozone concentrations is seen near the tropopause,
the cold layer that separates the troposphere and stratosphere. This ozone, acting as a greenhouse
gas (see below), has drawn a lot of attention, see Impact of ozone on climate change.
Overview of Problems Caused by Ozone

Figure 3. Atmospheric temperature as a function of height.

Ozone is at the core of many environmental problems, but these effects are very different
depending on where they are encountered in the troposphere and stratosphere (see Figure 4).

High levels of ozone and other oxidants such as peroxy-acetyl nitrate (PAN) were clearly
becoming a threat to human and ecosystem health in many cities throughout the United States.
Cities such as Los Angeles, California, where stagnant meteorological episodes with minimal air
exchange are often encountered, were most affected. This ozone problem is becoming more
widespread as transportation emissions have intensified.
Ozone is a greenhouse gas; it absorbs infrared radiation and re-emits it as radiation at
an energy level equivalent to about 18°C. This means that the impact of ozone,
at temperatures encountered at the surface, is minimal. Ozone is a much more effective
 greenhouse gas at the tropopause, where temperatures of –60 to –80°C are encountered. For more
information, see Impact of ozone on climate change.
From satellite images and Dobson Spectrometer measurements, it became clear in the period
around 1980–1985 that a substantial portion of stratospheric ozone in Antarctica was
disappearing during the local springtime (see Figure 5 and Antarctic ozone hole for more
information). (A Dobson Spectrometer measures solar light intensity at a wavelength at which
ozone absorbs light, and at one where ozone does not absorb light, and from the difference
derives the total ozone column between the apparatus and the sun.)

Figure 4: Air pollution and climate change problems caused by ozone at

different heights in the atmosphere.
In Figure 5, the expanding and darker color of the spot over Antarcticadescribes the scale and
intensity of ozone loss in the stratosphere. Less stratospheric ozone means that more shortwave
UV radiation will reach the Earth's surface. This would not only affect human health by causing
skin cancer, but could potentially affect marine ecosystems by damaging algae populations, the
basis of the oceanic food chain. Moreover, it was feared that the problem would not be restricted
to Antarctica but would become an environmental threat on a global scale.
The striking observation can been made that there is excessive ozone in the lower and higher
troposphere, causing damage to human and ecosystem health and amplifying the greenhouse
effect respectively, while ozone is disappearing in the stratosphere, where it acts as an essential
filter for UV-B and UV-C radiation. Approximately 90% of total ozone is in the stratosphere and
the remaining 10% in the troposphere. Hence, the increase in tropospheric ozone cannot
compensate for the loss in the stratospheric ozone.
See Also
 Greenhouse gas
 Halocarbon
Citation
Slanina, S. (2012). Ozone. Retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/155102
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Oxygen
Published: August 7, 2010, 2:11 pm

Updated: May 10, 2011, 4:01 pm

Author: Ida Kubiszewski

Author: Mineral Information Institute

Topic Editor: Lori Zaikowski

Topics: Physics &

Chemistry

Environmental
Chemistry

Vial of glowing ultrapure oxygen, O2. Original size in cm: 1 x 5. Source: images-of-elements.com
Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe. It is a non-metallic element with the
symbol O, the atomic number 8, an atomic weight of 15.999, and a melting point of about -
218.4°C. Oxygen gas is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. The liquid and solid forms are a pale
blue color and are strongly paramagnetic.

Previous 8
Element:Nitrogen
O
Next Element:Fluorine
15.999
 Physical Properties

Color colorless

Phase at Room Temp. gas

Density (g/cm3) 0.0014

Hardness (Mohs) ---

Melting Point (K) 54.8

Boiling Point (K) 90.2

Heat of Fusion (kJ/mol) 0.4

Heat of Vaporization (kJ/mol) ---

Heat of Atomization (kJ/mol) 249

Thermal Conductivity (J/m sec 0.03

K)

Electrical Conductivity (1/mohm 0

cm)

Source air

Atomic Properties

Electron Configuration [He]2s22p4

Number of Isotopes 3

Electron Affinity (kJ/mol) 140.9788

First Ionization Energy (kJ/mol) 1313.9

Second Ionization Energy 3388.2
(kJ/mol)

Third Ionization Energy (kJ/mol) 5300.3

Electronegativity 3.44

Polarizability (Å3) 0.793

Atomic Weight 15.999

Atomic Volume (cm3/mol) 13.9

Ionic Radius2- (pm) 126

Ionic Radius1- (pm) ---

Atomic Radius (pm) 73

Ionic Radius1+ (pm) ---

Ionic Radius2+ (pm) ---

Ionic Radius3+ (pm) ---

Common Oxidation Numbers -2

Other Oxid. Numbers -1, +1, +2

Abundance

In Earth's Crust (mg/kg) 4.61×105

In Earth's Ocean (mg/L) 8.57×105

In Human Body (%) 6.3%

Regulatory / Health
 CAS Number 7782-44-7

OSHA Permissible Exposure No limits

Limit

OSHA PEL Vacated 1989 No limits

NIOSH Recommended Exposure No limits

Limit

Sources: 
Mineral Information Institute
Jefferson Accelerator Laboratory
EnvironmentalChemistry.com

History
The name derives from the Greek oxys for "acid" and genesfor "forming", since the French
chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier originally thought that oxygen was an acid-producer because
by burning phosphorus and sulfur and dissolving them in water, he was able to produce acids.
For many centuries, workers occasionally realized that air was composed of more than one
component. The behavior of oxygen and nitrogen as components of air led to the advancement of
the phlogiston theory of combustion, which captured the minds of chemists for a century. Oxygen
was prepared by several workers, including Bayen and Borch, but they did not know how to
collect it, did not study its properties, and did not recognize it as an elementary substance.
Oxygen was discovered independently by the Swedish pharmacist and chemist Carl-Wilhelm
Scheele in 1771 and the English clergman and chemist Joseph Priestly in 1774.
Scheele's Chemical Treatise on Air and Fire was delayed in publication until 1777, and Priestly,
whose findings were published first, is credited with the discovery.
Forms
Ozone (O3), a highly active compound, is formed by the action of an electrical discharge or
ultraviolet light on oxygen.
3O2 + hv → 2O3

Ozone's presence in the Earth's atmosphere (amounting to the equivalent of a layer

3 millimeters (mm) thick under ordinary pressures and temperatures) helps prevent harmful
ultraviolet rays of the sun from reaching the Earth's surface. Pollutants in the atmosphere may
have a detrimental effect on this ozone layer. Ozone is toxic and exposure should not exceed 0.2
mg/m3 (8-hour time-weighted average - 40-hour work week). Undiluted ozone has a bluish color.
Liquid ozone is bluish black and solid ozone is violet-black.
Isotopes
Oxygen has three isotopes. Natural oxygen is a mixture of three isotopes. Naturally occurring
oxygen-18 (18O) is stable and available commercially, as is water (H2O with 15% 18O).
Commercial oxygen consumption in the U. S. is estimated at 20 million short tons per year and
the demand is expected to increase substantially.
Oxygen enrichment of steel blast furnaces accounts for the greatest use of the gas. Large
quantities are also used in making synthesis gas for ammonia and methanol, ethylene oxide, and
for oxy-acetylene welding.

Air separation plants produce about 99% of the gas, while electrolysis plants produce about 1%.

Sources
Oxygen is the third most abundant element found in the sun, and it plays a part in the carbon-
nitrogen cycle, the process once thought to give the sun and stars their energy. Oxygen under
excited conditions is responsible for the bright red and yellow-green colors of the Aurora.
A gaseous element, oxygen forms 21% of the Earth'satmosphere by volume and is obtained by
liquefaction and fractional distillation. The atmosphere of Mars contains about 0.15% oxygen.
The element and its compounds make up 49.2%, by weight, of the Earth's crust. About two-thirds
of the human body and nine-tenths of water is oxygen.
In the laboratory oxygen can be prepared by the electrolysis of water or by heating potassium
chlorate with manganese dioxide as a catalyst.

Uses
Oxygen is prepared for commercial use by the liquefaction and fractional distillation of air and by
the electrolysis of water, although the latter process is more expensive.

2H2O(liq) + electricity → 2H2(g) + O2(g)

In the laboratory it can be prepared by the electrolysis of water or by heating potassium chlorate
with manganese dioxide as a catalyst.

2KClO3(s) + heat → 2KCl(s) + 3O2(g)

Oxygen is very reactive and capable of combining with most elements. It is a component of
hundreds of thousands of organic compounds. It is essential for respiration of all plants and
animals and for practically allcombustion reactions.
Oxygen enrichment for basic-oxygen steelmaking furnaces is the greatest industrial use of the
gas. Large quantities are also used in making synthesis gas for ammonia and methanol, ethylene
oxide, and for oxy-acetylene welding. Oxygen is utilized in medicine in the treatment of
respiratory diseases and is used to aid respiration in marines and passengers of high-flying planes
and spaceships. Liquid oxygen is used as an oxidizer in the fuel systems of large rockets.

Citation
Kubiszewski, I., & Institute, M. (2011). Oxygen. Retrieved from
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/155097
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oston University

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Unless otherwise noted, all text is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. 
Privacy Policy | Neutrality Policy 
Supported by the Environmental Information Coalition and the National Co