Why the ozone absorb the UV rays and allow IR and Visible rays. UV rays have more energy in it then others????

Question

UV rays has more energy since they have shorter wavelength.They should pentrate the ozone layer if IR raysand Visible rays can do it with less energy..

Answer 1

UV-C rays do not reach the earth’s surface because of the ozone layer. When UV-C rays meet the ozone molecules at high layers of the atmosphere, the energy inherent in them is enough to break apart the bond of the molecule and absorb the energy. Therefore, no UV-C rays from the sun ever come into contact with life on earth, though man-produced UV-C rays can be a hazard in certain professions, such as welders.

UV-B rays have a lower energy level and a longer wavelength than UV-C. As their energy is often not sufficient to split an ozone molecule, some of them extend down to the earth's surface. UV-A rays do not have enough energy to break apart the bonds of the ozone, so UV-A radiation passes the earth's atmosphere almost unfiltered. As both UV-B and UV-A rays can be detrimental to our health, it is important that we protect ourselves. This can be done through a variety of ways. The most obvious is to reduce the amount of time one spends in the sun, particularly between the hours of 11 am and 3 pm, when the sun is at its highest in the sky. However, especially during the summer holidays, this does not always work out.

AND

The second link is a great detailed discussion on the issue.

http://www.nas.nasa.gov/About/Education/...

Answer 2

A long wave has less total contact. It goes straight through. A short wave had a longer total contact time and will be filtered out.