Ozone is heavier than oxygen but...

Air is mostly Nitrogen...so the oxygen comparison is irrelevant....

Can;'t be bothered to find the relative mass of Nitrogen vs Ozone, but I'm sure you can.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone

Ozone is created in the upper atmosphere - that's why you find it there.

The ultraviolet light that it is supposed to protect us against actually creates ozone. UV dissociates oxygen, the gree oxygen atom then combines with molecular oxygen to make ozone. Another ray of UV, then strikes the ozone and dissociates it again. Basically its constantly being formed and destroyed in the upper atmosphere, hence its presence there.

The density difference is not enough to cause segregation. The CO₂ detected by ionization smoke detectors is near the ceiling only because of the heat associated with a fire, causing hot gas to rise. Propane won't segregate, hexane and possibly pentane are the lightest gases that wold show any segregation, due to Brownian motion.

RichH

The ozone in the upper atmosphere was created by electrical activity there.

and electrical activity in the upper ozone ring is created by cosmic radiation, solar flair, solar wind.

It is very interesting thing to note that gases, dust and solid mass find easy going into selective orbits as if they are quantized to find zero energy loss point. Look at the rings of Saturn, and they are not all that light weight material or Moon is not made of foam. Something that orbits a planet has something to do with orbital velocity, its mass, and gravity to sustain there. There are other factors that influence the stability. Whatever will not fit the rules will escape this way or that way.

the ozone is created high in the atmosphere. It's fairly unstable, so it breaks down before it can fall to earth. And, of course, it's lighter than nitrogen.

It's the instability of ozone that makes it dangerous to living creatures--it breaks down into 02 and a free oxygen atom which will race to oxidize anything in the vicinity, including dna or cell walls or whatever.

O₂ weighs in at 32 g/mole O₃ at 48, N₂is a measly 28. This is ignoring the minuscule O¹⁸ and other isotopes, which can be ignored, along with the C¹⁴ produced "up there". If segregation were so simple, the entire upper atmosphere would consist of H₂O, weighing in (as a gas) at only 18 g/m. And CO₂ at 44 would be sharing our surface with the O₃. Even iodine gas, I₂ , at 254 g/m has a hard time segregating to any great extent in an enclosed environment.

Even grossly differing gases in a still environment, at temperatures above the boiling point of both gases, say I₂ and H₂ will only develop a gradient, not separation.

Otherwise, we'd never smell the flowers.

Rich

well the oxygen is lighter than the ozone

but are u saying that the reason that the O3 isn't coming down

is that the gravity can't reach it??

or is it because that in the trabospher O2 is not found alone

and is compound with other gasess?

or even both???

may i point out .... very nice subject to discuss ^_^

in ozone layer there is a dynamicl equlibrium convertion of oxygen to ozone and vice versa in the presence of ULTRA VOILET RADIATIONS. since these radiations can enter the earth from outer atmosphere so ozone mainly gets formed at outer surface, and earth's gravitation pull is less effectively working on this fast inter converting , 5km thick layer of ozone and oxygen. hence the result. for further information contact at my e-mail address i.e prabjotsinghkk@yahoo.com