How come you need to blow on a flame to help it grow into a fire, but if you blow on a candle, it blows out?
In: Physics
A fire needs 3 things – fuel, oxygen, heat.
By blowing on a fire you are adding oxygen but taking away heat.
A bigger fire has plenty of heat so it can take your extra oxygen without cooling down too much.
A tiny flame like a candle doesn’t have much heat, so you blowing on it cools it down too much and it goes out. This is also true if you blow too hard on a fire that is just starting.
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