Why does a candle not create smoke when burning but lots of smoke when you blow it out?

Question

Why does a candle not create smoke when burning but lots of smoke when you blow it out?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

The heat from the flame melts the wax to a liquid then from liquid to gas before it ignites. When you blow out the candle you stop that last step from happening so the gas exists but is never ignited. You can actually relight a candle by lighting the tail of smoke.