Editing Ozone–oxygen cycle (section)

===Removal===
If an oxygen atom and an ozone molecule meet, they recombine to form two oxygen molecules:
:4. '''ozone conversion''': O<sub>3</sub> + O → 2 O<sub>2</sub>
Two oxygen atoms may react to form one oxygen molecule:
:5. '''oxygen recombination''': 2O + A → O<sub>2</sub> + A
:as in reaction 2 (above), A denotes another molecule or atom, like N<sub>2</sub> or O<sub>2</sub> required for the conservation of energy and momentum.
Note that reaction 5 is of the least importance in the stratosphere, since, under normal conditions, the concentration of oxygen atoms is much lower than that of diatomic oxygen molecules. This reaction is therefore less common than ozone creation (reaction 2).

The overall amount of ozone in the stratosphere is determined by the balance between production from solar radiation and its removal. The removal rate is slow, since the concentration of free O atoms is very low.