How do trick birthday candles work?
If you have ever seen trick birthday candles, you know that they work amazingly well! When a person blows one out, it simply re-lights itself in a few seconds. If you have never seen a trick candle, click on the image below to see a short video of one in action: To understand trick birthday candles, it is helpful to first understand normal candles so click here to read how candles work . The key thing about a normal candle that is important to a trick candle is the moment after you blow out the candle. Normally there is a burning ember in the wick that causes a ribbon of paraffin smoke to rise from the wick. That ember is hot enough to vaporize paraffin but it is not hot enough to ignite the paraffin vapor. The key to a re-lighting candle, therefore, is to add something to the wick that the ember is hot enough to ignite. That way the ember can ignite this substance and the substance can then ignite the paraffin vapor. In the
