How do candles work?
The burning wick causes wax to melt and be drawn up. The molten wax vapourises (becomes gas) and then ignites. The wick continues to draw up molten (liquid) wax and the cycle continues. The wick does burn away, but comparatively slowly as it is the hotter vapourised wax that is the principal component of the flame. Where the wick remains covered by the burning wax, it does not have contact with air, and consequently does not get burned away. Now a smoking candle does mean that the air is reaching the wick, and this will burn away much faster! The alternative theory is that the candle steals the light from a match, and tries to hang on to it, but the light is very difficult to hold on to, and it tries to escape but can only do so very gradually, which is why candles burn for longer than matches. Personally, I am not convinced by this second theory.
“, featured on How stuff works Did you ever wonder how and why a candle actually burns? Why is it that a tiny piece of wick, that would normally turn into ashes in a few seconds if it wasn’t at the heart of a paraffin block, can sustain a flame for hours and hours? Why won’t paraffin burn without a wick? Candles have take nsuch a place in our household universe that we don’t even wonder how they burn anymore. And yet, the process that keeps the flame burning is such an interesting and fascinating one! Two main components work together in a candle: the fuel, made of some sort of wax, the wick, made of some sort of absorbent twine. The wick needs to be naturally absorbent, like a towel, or it needs to have a strong capillary action (as in glass fiber wicks used in oil lamps). If you buy a length of un-waxed wick (see article “Why and how prime your wicks?”) at a craft store and play with it, you will find that it feels like soft string and absorbs water very well. This absorbency is impo
