KNOW WHY CANDLE FLAME ALWAYS POINT UPWARDS EVEN IF IT IS TILTED !!

We all have seen that a flame from candlelight always points upwards. It will point upwards even if we tilt the candle. Ever wondered why it is happening? Let us discuss the reason for this in this article.

When you start a fire, the fuel combines with oxygen to release heat, light, carbon dioxide, water vapor, soot, etc. The heat energy generated in this process heats up the air around the flame which in turn reduces its density** (a good analogy is water vapor which is hotter and less dense as against water which is colder and heavier). This hot air around the flame then starts rising up and the surrounding colder heavier air rushes down into its place accelerating the hot air upwards which in turn causes the flame to shoot up.

So, in short, a combination and gravity and gravity-induced buoyancy cause the hot air to rise up causing the flames to point upwards here on earth.

If there were no gravity (space or NASA simulated micro-gravity chambers) there would be no reason for the heavier, colder air to flow downwards & the flame would be just a blob around the wick (or the material that burns)

Just in case you are curious as to why hot air is less dense than cold air in the first place - the heat gives the molecules in the gas higher (kinetic) energy. So these molecules can move faster and further apart because they now have the energy needed to overcome their binding forces. The molecules being farther apart means that the material is less dense.

Thank you for reading the article!