Science Help.?

Question

Ok I tutor my neighbor for her science class and I'm stumped.

How would a birthday candle work differently instead of wax using steel?


How would a birthday candle work differently with wax but a non absorbant flamable wick?

Answer 1

Neither would burn. In the first case, steel does not burn (at the temperature of birthday candles; at the temperature of burning office buildings, maybe).

In the second case, the wick wouldburn down to the wax and then gutter out.

The two work together. The wick absorbs melted wax and carries it upwards to the flame by capillary action (the wicking effect). The heat of the flame decomposes melted wax to flammable gases, which burn in the flame. If you watch a burning candle, you see that the black wick always remains the same length. This is because any wick "above" the flame gets burned away. The wick is surrounded by a little pool of melted wax. If you can find them, Michael Faraday's lectures on the chemistry of a candle would be eye-opening.