How a Candle Burns

95. How a Candle Burns

A lit candle AB, made of particles of wax or any other oily material, is in space CDE, through which its flame extends.

• These wax particles, as well as many air-aether globules, float.

However, both these have the fire-aether so innate in them that they are carried away by its motion.

They often touch and push each other. But they do not support each other from every side, as they usually do in places where there is no fire.

96. How fire is sustained in a candle

The fire-aether in the flame tends to escape from where it is because it moves very swiftly.

It tends to rise upward away from the center of the Earth because it is lighter than the air-aether globules which occupy the air.

Both these air-aether globules and all the earth-aether particles of the surrounding air try to descend into its place.

Therefore, they would immediately smother the flame if it consisted only of the fire-aether.

However, earth-aether particles constantly emanate from the wick FG.

• As soon as they are immersed in the fire-aether, they follow its course.
• They repel the air particles descending into the flame and thus preserve the fire.

97. Why a Candle’s Flame becomes pointed, and smoke issues from it.

The flame is usually pointed becase these particles tend mainly upward.

They act much faster than the air particles that they repel. And so, they cannot be hindered by the air from proceeding further towards H, where they gradually deposit their agitation and turn into smoke.

98. How air and other bodies feed the flame.

If the smoke could not find any space in the entire air, because there is no vacuum anywhere except where it exits from the flame, it would return with a circular motion towards it.

Specifically, as the smoke ascends to H, it displaces the air towards I and K.

This air licks:

• the tip of the candle B
• the roots of the wick F

It approaches the flame and sustains it.

However, this alone would not be enough, due to the thinness of its parts.

It needs to bring the many wax particles to feed the flame.

• These wax particles are agitated by fire’s heat through the wick.

This constantly renews and preserves the flame.

• It does not remain the same, just as rivers to which new waters constantly flow always change.

99. The circular motion of air towards fire

The circular motion of air and smoke can be experienced whenever a large fire is kindled in a closed room.

If the room is closed in such a way that, besides the chimney pipe through which the smoke exits, only one opening is left, a strong wind will be felt continuously through this opening.

• It heads towards the fire to where the smoke is going.

100. Those things that extinguish fire

Two things are required to preserve fire:

1. There should be earth-aether particles in it.

They are propelled by the fire-aether and have the power to prevent the fire from being suffocated by the physical air or other liquids placed above it.

I only speak of liquids placed above the fire carried solely by their gravity towards it, because there is no danger of being extinguished by those beneath it.

Thus, the flame of an inverted candle is smothered by its wax.

Conversely, other fires can be made in which there are earth-aether particles so solid, so many, and so vibrated with such force that they repel water poured on them and cannot be extinguished by it.

101. What is required for a body to sustain fire?

2. The fire should adhere to some body from which new matter can access it, to the place where the smoke is going.

Therefore, this body must have many thin earth-aether particles, depending on the ratio of preserving fire.

They must be so joined together, either among themselves or even with thicker ones, so that they can be separated, driven by the particles of that fire:

• from each other and
• from the neighboring air-aether globules
  • This would convert them into fire.