The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-07-05
INTERESTING FACT IN CHEMISTRY.

By looking down on The IMP n q wnx can.
de, little cup flll of melted wEx may bo
seen just round the wick Tho cool air keeps
the outside hard 40 that a rim is formed that
prevents the melted wax from running down
the side, The wax in the little cup goes up
through the wick To be- burned, Just as oil
does in the wick Of lamp. II goes up thro
the little passages 10 the cotton wick, because
very small channels or pores have the power
in themselves of sucking up liquids This
power Is called capillary attraction.
When the candle Is blown out, n smoke
arises from the wirk. liza bit Of lighted pa.
per Do totf tn TIC gmotp the candle viii
light again without touching the flame TO tho
wick. This shows that the melted wax suck
ed up through the wax is turned into ynpor
which burns and communicates FIRE 90 tho
wick Of the candle.
Whom tlse .a''d1e lipi,tc,l the lrrat Of tho
burning yapQr Keeps on, melting more wax,
aud that d sucked mp within the flame, here
.ii Is turned into yaPor aud burned aud this
process is continued until the wax is all used
up, and the candle is gone, or burned up, as
it is termed.
Notwithstanding the flame OF the candle
looks fiat, it is both round aud hollow, and
runs up to point. II is thus drawn up by
the hot air Hot aif always rises, and that is
the way smoke is carried up chimney. It
goes up with current of heated air.
The bright flame of lighted candle is Of
ten no thicker than n sheet of paper ii does
not even touch the wick. That the flame is
hollow may be seen by taking a piece Of
ssl',t. t.s..l l,..i.ltt i,.,, He.s, eg .ra
down upon tho candle Name, Keeping The
flame steady When the black from the
smoke has been rubbed of, it will be seen
that the paper IS scophed in the shape &C a
rir'g' while inside OF the ring it is only soilcd
and not scarcely soilrd at all.
Inside Of this hollow fame is the yapor spo-
ken Of Just now. BY putting ono end of
bent tube into the middle of the flame aud
the other end in bottle, tho vapor or gas
from the candle will mix with the air in thc
bottle. II fire be set to this mixture of air
and gas, it will explode with, report
The flame ofa candle, then, is little shin
ing case with gas inside of il, and air on the
outside so that the case of flame is between
the gas and the air. The gas keeps going in
TO the flame TO burn, and when the candle
burns properly, none OF it passes out through
the flame and none ofthe air gets through the
flame to the gas Tho greatest neat of tho
candle is in the case of flame
A candle will not burn without air. If il
has not enough air it goes out or burns badly
so that some of the vapor inside OF the lame
comes out in the form OF smoke.
/ The smoke that comes out of n candle is
what burns and makes the light. This smoke
is cloud of dust or bits Of charcoal or carbon
Those are made in the flame, and burned by
it, and while burning make the fame bright
They are burned the moment they are
made, and the flame goes on making more of
! them a'fd that is how the flame keeps bright
! These little grains of carbon are made in
the case of flame ITSELF where the strongest
heats. The great heat separates them from
the gas which comes from the melted wax,
and as soon as they touch the air on the out
sida of the thin flame they bufn. Carbon or
charcoal, is what causes the brightness of all
lamps and candles, as well as gas light hence
there must be carbon in what thoy are made
of.-Dickens Household Words.