MadSci Network: Chemistry |
The exact temperature of a candle flames depends on the material being consumed (burned). First, it is important to understand that a candle does NOT burn the wick (the string). It is the wax that acts as the fuel for the candle flame. The heat of the flame melts the wax, transforming the solid wax into a liquid, which then travels up the wick. (This process is known as capillary action.) Eventually the liquid wax is turned into a gas (like steam from a boiling kettle on the stove) and is consumed by the flame. Different waxes will have different flame temperatures. On average, the maximum flame temperature will be about 2550 deg F. (Remember that water boils at 212 deg F.) There have been numerous experiments involving candles, including a series of experiments that NASA has conducted in the Space Shuttle. Without buoyancy, which is the natural upward motion of hot air, flames look very different in the weightless environment. There are candle flame images and descriptions of the experiments on the following web site: http://zeta.lerc.nasa.gov/expr3/combust.htm Reference: Flames: Their Structure, radiation and temperature, 3rd edition, Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1970, pp 139-141. ---------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Jeffrey S. Goldmeer NRC Research Associate / NASA Lewis Research Center Jeffrey.Goldmeer@lerc.nasa.gov
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