The Science of How a Candle Burns

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

You might also like:

Headline Science:
   • Headline Science  

Ingenious:
   • Ingenious  

ACS Spring 2021 Press Conferences - Archived:
   • ACS Spring 2021 Press Conferences - Archived  

Chemical & Engineering News
   / @chemicalengineeringnewsvideos  

Produced by the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences.

Join the American Chemical Society! https://bit.ly/Join_ACS