Ozone Ozone derives from the greek word ozein which means to smell. It was first discovered in 1839 by Christian Friedrick Schonbein who noticed it because of its distinctive acrid smell. He discovered this at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Ozone is merely oxygen, but not the type we breath. Ozone, O3 has three compounds while oxygen has only two. Ozone is reac- tive, meaning it does not stay still, and wants to go back to its original state, with two compounds, O2. This is why ozone is harmful. Ozone always wants to let go of its third compound, and if this compound reacts with other substances, it could be damaging,