Presumably, the worlds weather is governed by the fundamentals of physics and chemistry-the conservation of energy, the second law of thermodynamics, the hydrodynamic equations. But getting from these fundamentals to an accurate prediction of weather at a given location is either not possible, or at least remains elusive. It is one of the goals of our course to put this question in proper context. This defines the major divisions of this course. We can illustrate part of the concept by considering one molecule, ozone.
Ozone is a simple triatomic, reactive molecule formed from three oxygen atoms.
It is a powerful oxidizing agent. For example, in the smog of Los Angeles a good test for ozone is to stretch a rubber band in the ground level atmosphere and measure the time taken for it to snap. Ozone reacts with the rubber polymer to weaken it's structure. Suppose we breath air containing ozone. It would be no surprise that this would be unhealthy.