Are you curious about where does candle wax go?

Have you ever wondered how you have less candle after burning than before? This is because the wax oxidizes (burns) in the flame to yield water and carbon dioxide which dissipate in the air around the candle, in a reaction which also yields light and heat.

Combustion of Candle Wax

Candle wax (paraffin) is composed of chains of connected carbon atoms surrounded by hydrogen atoms.These hydrocarbon molecules can burn completely. When you light a candle, wax near the wick melts into a liquid. The heat of the flame vaporizes the wax molecules and then they react with the oxygen in the air. As wax is consumed capillary action draws more liquid wax along the wick. As long as the wax doesn’t melt away from the flame, the flame will consume it completely and leave no ash or wax residue.

Both light and heat are radiated in all directions from a candle flame. About one-quarter of the energy from combustion is emitted as heat.

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