Okay, yes the wax melts, but it gets smaller too. So, does it evaporate? Just wondering.........
2007-01-11 08:44:58 · 32 answers · asked by candispassion.com 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Sadsac........I am not a fruit loop troll....If you have a candle that is burning in a jar, it can't drip anywhere. But, it the wax burns away. Just wondering if it is evaporating....Chemically, what is the breakdown? That's all! :-)
2007-01-11 08:56:47 · update #1
the wax oxidizes (burns) in the flame to yield water and carbon dioxide, which dissipate in the air around the candle, in a reaction which also yields light and heat. Candle wax (paraffin) is composed of chains of connected carbon atoms surrounded by hydrogen atoms. These hydrocarbon molecules can burn completely. First the heat of the flame vaporizes the wax molecules and then they react with the oxygen in the air. As long as the wax doesn't melt away from the flame, the flame will consume it completely and leave no ash or wax residue.
2007-01-11 08:50:14 · answer #1 · answered by Melli 6 · 8⤊ 2⤋
What Happens To Candle Wax
2016-11-11 06:45:54 · answer #2 · answered by kinnu 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Boiling hot water will do it but not over the distance it is to travel. So I suggest you undo the joint just past the blockage. Put a bucket underneath to catch the waste and pour boiling hot water down the hole. If that is not an option for you, you will have to phone the plumber. Just read some others. Draino won't work as it is caustic soda based and the wax will not be affected by caustic soda.
2016-03-17 23:38:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It combines with oxygen in a chemical reaction, and the products of that chemical reaction turn into a gas which leaves into the air. It is not evaporation, it is burning(combustion of the wax)...just like burning wood....but wax burns very slowly.
2007-01-11 08:49:12 · answer #4 · answered by ? 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋
When a candle burns some mels. The wax must be in the gaseous state to burn. The melted wax burns and goes off as CO2 and H2O.
2007-01-11 08:50:53 · answer #5 · answered by science teacher 7 · 4⤊ 3⤋
Some of it burns up with the smoke. If you burn enough candles in a room, it will cover your walls and ceiling in a thin film. That is why I don't burn many candles anymore.
2007-01-11 09:00:00 · answer #6 · answered by devil's advocate 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It burns, and the residue floats off as smoke. The wax is the fuel that the flame burns.
2007-01-11 08:48:25 · answer #7 · answered by Ralfcoder 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Your kidding right? It melts and goes down to the bottom of the candle. not it does not evaporate. it is a solid that turns into a liquid.
back in the 1800's they use to reuse the candle wax over again all they had to do was get more string,
2007-01-11 08:48:06 · answer #8 · answered by Robert G 5 · 1⤊ 10⤋
It goes wherever you allow to go, run off your table, or onto a candle tray. The melted wax is not near as large a mass as the candle itself!
2007-01-11 08:48:52 · answer #9 · answered by janet r 3 · 0⤊ 7⤋
All the air trapped in the wax does.
2007-01-11 08:49:09 · answer #10 · answered by S.A.M. Gunner 7212 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋