''The Chemical History of a Candle'' was the title of a series of six lectures on the

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, propertie ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which re ...

flame A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

s given by

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, ...

at the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, in ...

in 1848, as part of the series of Christmas lectures for young people founded by Faraday in 1825 and still given there every year. The lectures described the different zones of combustion in the

candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candle ...

flame and the presence of

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes u ...

particles in the luminescent zone. Demonstrations included the production and examination of the properties of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide gases. An electrolysis cell is demonstrated, first in the electroplating of platinum conductors by dissolved copper, then the production of hydrogen and oxygen gases and their recombination to form water. The properties of water itself are studied, including its expansion while freezing (iron vessels are burst by this expansion), and the relative volume of steam produced when water is vaporized. Techniques for weighing gases on a balance are demonstrated. Atmospheric pressure is described and its effects demonstrated. Faraday emphasizes that several of the demonstrations and experiments performed in the lectures may be performed by children "at home" and makes several comments regarding proper attention to safety. The lectures were first printed as a book in 1861. In 2016,

Bill Hammack William (Bill) S. Hammack (born 1961) is an American chemical engineer, and Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Hammack earned his BS in Chemical Engineering in 1984 from Michi ...

published a video series of the lectures supplemented by commentary and a companion book. Faraday's ideas are still used as the basis for open teaching about energy in modern primary and secondary schools Walker, M., Gröger, M., Schlüter, K., & Mosler, B. (2008). A bright spark: Open teaching of science using Faraday's lectures on candles. Journal of chemical education, 85(1), 59.

Contents of the six lectures

Lecture 1: A Candle: The Flame - Its Sources - Structure - Mobility - Brightness Lecture 2: Brightness of the Flame - Air necessary for Combustion - Production of Water Lecture 3: Products: Water from the Combustion - Nature of Water - A Compound - Hydrogen Lecture 4: Hydrogen in the Candle - Burns into Water - The Other Part of Water - Oxygen Lecture 5: Oxygen present in the Air - Nature of the Atmosphere - Its Properties - Other Products from the Candle - Carbonic Acid - Its Properties Lecture 6: Carbon or Charcoal - Coal Gas Respiration and its Analogy to the Burning of a Candle - Conclusion

Reception

According to

Frank Wilczek Frank Anthony Wilczek (; born May 15, 1951) is an American theoretical physicist, mathematician and Nobel laureate. He is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Founding Direct ...

: According to Bill Griffith,

F.R.S.C. The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

, of

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

References

External links

* Full text of ''The Chemical History Of A Candle'' from

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libra ...

* * Full text of ''The Chemical History Of A Candle'' from Internet Archive, with illustrations. * Picture book adaptation of Faraday's lecture. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chemical History of a Candle, The 1861 non-fiction books Chemistry books History of chemistry Candles Michael Faraday Books of lectures