2006-07-10 08:12:46 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Candles really are an amazing lighting system -- the fuel itself is the package. There are two parts that work together in a candle:
The fuel, made of some sort of wax
The wick, made of some sort of absorbent twine
Paraffin wax is a heavy hydrocarbon that comes from crude oil
When you light a candle, you melt the wax in and near the wick. The wick absorbs the liquid wax and pulls it upward. The heat of the flame vaporizes the wax, and it is the wax vapor that burns.
----I'm just here to distract you from the long text blocks----
Paraffin wax will burn on its own, but it is like cooking oil, motor oil and coal in that you have to get it very hot for combustion to begin. An oil fire is intense and very hard to put out. Paraffin is the same way. In a candle, this works great -- only the tiny amount of wax on the wick is hot enough to vaporize and burn.
Or in short because the wax is heated above it's melting point and thus the wax melts.
2006-07-10 08:21:36 · answer #1 · answered by neoteenbe 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Candles are made of wax. Wax has a relatively low melting point of 45 °C (113 °F) which means that when the candle gets hot from the flame it melts. For this reason, you should not leave candles burning unattended. I know friends of mine where their daughter left an incense candle burning unattended and it nearly burnt down their house.
2006-07-10 08:37:44 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because wax melts when heated up by flam. It was liquid before it can be liquid again. Like an ice cube its water but frozen it melts. Candle wax when heated it melts. :)
2006-07-10 08:17:47 · answer #3 · answered by Rain-- 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because the heat from the flame excites the molecules of the wax, and makes them move. By moving, they melt because they have a low melting point, then when it solidifies, that is because they cool, and the molecules are moving more slowly.
2006-07-10 08:16:31 · answer #4 · answered by Pirate_Wench 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because the temperature in the wax is greater than the intramolecular forces holding the wax together. It is above the melting point of wax
2006-07-10 08:15:44 · answer #5 · answered by satanorsanta 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's an answer I had help with -------
The wax is a hydrocarbon, which means it is a compound made of carbon and hydrogen. When combustion occurs in the presence of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water (CO2 and H2O) are formed. In a chemical reaction the atoms are just rearranged into different compounds. Carbon dioxide is an invisible gas so it doesn't disappear like magic it just changes into something else that your eyes can't see. The water is a vapor so you can't see it either. Soot is also carbon and it is frequently a bi-product also (you can see that black stuff).
2006-07-11 12:50:13 · answer #6 · answered by Feisty Terrier 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They get hot! Some candles don't melt, they burn.
2006-07-10 08:15:50 · answer #7 · answered by Answer King 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because wax melts when hot.
2006-07-10 08:15:59 · answer #8 · answered by mageta8 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Once a candle travels the velocity of light it burns forever.The gas replicates.
2006-07-10 09:24:26 · answer #9 · answered by Balthor 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is it 'cos they are in love????....my heart always melts when I am in love....
2006-07-10 08:14:23 · answer #10 · answered by Sweetpea 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋