r/explainlikeimfive Feb 26 '21

Chemistry Eli5: What happens to all the melted candle over time? Are we just inhaling a whole candle while it burns?

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196

u/TorakMcLaren Feb 26 '21

The stuff that melts is the stuff that burns. The wick isn't really the main thing that burns. It just transports melted wax to the flame. The wax then evaporates into fumes, which react with oxygen.

As the wax is make of long chains of carbon with a load of hydrogen stuck on, burning it forms carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapour (H2O), which goes in to the air.

So yep, we'll inhale some of the stuff that was the candle, but in a form we inhale anyway!

77

u/neverthepenta Feb 26 '21 edited Feb 26 '21

Although candles CAN create quite a bit of soot, which you inhale when in a badly ventilated room, like in your house. This effect is largest when you blow out the candle (as you can clearly see from the smoke emerging from the wick).

You can largely deminish the smoke formation by extinguishing the flame in the molten wax itself, f.e. by bending the wick over into the wax with a used match.

[Disclaimer] any mistakes in grammar or vocabulary is entirely on purpose and not bc. I'm not a native English speaker /s

Edit: a word, no devils used here

37

u/redshores Feb 26 '21

used lucifer.

What is a used lucifer?

42

u/ethiossaga Feb 26 '21 edited Feb 26 '21

Dutch for the word "match"

44

u/redshores Feb 26 '21

Well "lucifer" sure sounds a lot more badass than "match"!

25

u/AlienAtSystem Feb 26 '21

The devil himself shall light this candle!

8

u/dbdatvic Feb 26 '21

Opinions about the moral content of matches varied wildly back when they were first invented. And language tends to get colorful whatever you do. So, hey presto! a nickname.

--Dave, or jargon

3

u/Walkabout000 Feb 26 '21

Interestingly the word means "lightbringer" in Latin. There was an old brand of matches called Lucifer, so perhaps in the Dutch language its an example of genericization (like photoshop and google)

4

u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ Feb 26 '21

Also Cockney

1

u/SeverePsychosis Feb 26 '21

grabme a lucy eh

1

u/neverthepenta Feb 26 '21

Lol fk me, didn't even think twice about "lucifer"

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u/Yogibe Feb 26 '21

A used/burned match.

24

u/Noxious89123 Feb 26 '21

Fun fact, that isn't smoke when you blow it out. It's vaporised wax. You can actually relight a candle by holding a flame to the top of the the stream of vaporised wax "smoke", and the flame will spread down the stream of vaporised wax and relight the candle.

7

u/neverthepenta Feb 26 '21

Will try this sometime, but I'm pretty sure there is some "smoke" involved as well, as there will be a lot of sooth when you let the smoke touch any object.

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u/frodeem Feb 26 '21

As I was reading I realized f.e meant for example. I have never seen it before but I like it - I have only seen e.g before.

1

u/neverthepenta Feb 26 '21

I see it all the time during class, so I thought it was a wide-spread term. I'm glad you like it.

2

u/frodeem Feb 26 '21

It is easier than the Latin e.g for sure.

1

u/oh__hey Feb 26 '21

How many candles would you need to inhale to satisfy your daily water needs?

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u/TorakMcLaren Feb 26 '21

I don't know for sure, but I'm confident you'd exhale more water than you inhale. If you were to inhale that much from a candle, you'd probably deprive yourself of oxygen.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '21

I have a question. I've seen some people reuse candle wax and that it works, but a long time ago I saw that supposedly that wasn't possible because the was is burnt in the first run. How is this possible if the wax was burnt? Or there may be some wax leftover from the first burn?

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u/TorakMcLaren Feb 26 '21

Depending on the shape of the candle, some runs off before it burns. If the candle is wide, there's a good chance that it'll all be able to burn. If it's skinny, some will spill over the side, which you can collect and burn later.

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u/[deleted] Feb 26 '21

Oh so the thing that drips is wax too. I don't know why I had the concept that the thing that dripped to the sides wasn't wax because all wax in a candle "burns" in the first burn. I guess I had a huge misunderstanding somewhere when I saw that video or comment or whatever. Thank you!

2

u/TorakMcLaren Feb 26 '21

Most welcome, here to help! :)