How do candle wicks “keep up” with the decreasing wax depth in a candle?
In: Other
Most of what is burning when a candle is lit isn’t the wick it’s the wax. The wick doesn’t burn until it gets far enough away from the wax. Once the wick is too far past the pool of melted wax it burns down till it isn’t too long anymore.
If the wick is too long for the wax to reach the top, the wick itself burns. Once the wick is short enough that the melting wax can climb up it (via capillary action), then the wax will burn instead of the wick.
Well… They burn!
How a candle works is that it melts the wax around it and the wax come throught the wick. Then if the wax is too far away the wick is burnt until the fire is close enough to melt the wax and the xycle keeps until there is no wax left
Answered well by most below, Candle makers also pick type/thickness/speed the wick to match needs of the wax and size/type of candle.. heavily scented waxes tend to burn faster, pure paraffin burns slower so they should have different wicks
Latest Answers