The Science Behind Candle Burning 🕯️

Have you ever looked at a candle's flame and wondered the chemistry is behind that glow?

When you light a candle’s wick the reaction begins. At the base of the wick, the flame is HOT — over 500º C. This melts the solid wax into a liquid that the absorbent wick sucks up into the flame, where the hydrocarbons get so hot they vaporize into a gas. The gaseous hydrocarbons react with oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide and water vapor and then release the energy in the form of heat and light. This reaction is called combustion.

Let’s try some experiments to see how this works in practice.

#chemistry #candle #science

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