December is the darkest month of the year, so candles, once necessary, are now associated with Christmas. You are liable to light a few yourself, so you may as well learn the science behind what makes them dangerous. See, what actually burns in a candle flame is not the solid or liquid wax, nor the wick, but the vapor of the wax.
James Orgill of the Action Lab starts this video with a spectacular reaction you may not see coming. Maybe we should have noticed that he's using a long stick to keep it far away. Apparently this reaction is internet fodder, yet is rarely explained accurately. The video has a two minute skippable ad at 2:30. (via Damn Interesting)
Monday, December 01, 2025
Dangerous Candle Wax
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I'd heard (but never experimented with it) that wax doesn't actually boil, it simply hits its combustion point, and the vapor pressure causes it to hit the right vapor combustion point, and it would "catch fire.".
Imma guessing (pre-watching) that it's more than merely "catching fire" like a match. But that was the constant warning was, never hear wax (in candlemaking) over an open flame, it might just start burning.
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