Air conditioning eventually reach the upper atmosphere. Once the refrigerant reaches the stratosphere, UV radiation from the Sun homolytically cleaves the chlorine-carbon bond, yielding a chlorine radical. These chlorine radicals catalyze the breakdown of ozone into diatomic oxygen, depleting the ozone layer that shields the Earth's surface from strong UV radiation. Each chlorine radical remains active as a catalyst until it binds with another radical, forming a stable molecule and quenching the chain reaction. Prior to 1994, most automotive air conditioning systems used R-12 as a refrigerant. It was replaced with R-134a refrigerant, which has no ozone depletion potential. Old R-12 systems
Zombies of the Stratosphere Man back-pack and helmet, used for the first time in this serial, is a two-way radio about the size of a lunchbox; Larry Martin wears it hanging heavily from his belt when dressed for flying. This radio is also seen in some stills of Cody in "". As most flying sequences are reused stock footage from earlier Rocket Man serials, the radio usually disappears when Commando Cody is in flight. Martin also uses an ordinary police revolver instead of the ray gun favored by Cody in earlier and later serials. "Zombies of the Stratosphere" was budgeted at $172,838, although the