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
To turn a flame into a fire with breath you are gently encouraging heat to move from a small area of fuel to other nearby areas of fuel before the heat source runs out of fuel and dies.
A candle, in contrast, has plenty of fuel in the wax and is in no danger of burning out in the short term. To put it out without waiting you swiftly blow the heat and flame away away and cool the embers and wax enough that the flame does not return when the airflow ceases.
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