Lights of the World

Yesterday, I was at my cell group (for those out of the Christian Lingo these are not terrorist groups but small gatherings of Christians) and at one point we lit a candle. In the deeper recesses of my mind came a divine question… Why do we use wax in candles?

That’s right! Take a deep breath! I’m not going to go all religious on you! Has anyone else ever thought about this? The simple answer is that wax is a source of fuel, but simultaneously a container. Why wax rather than a glass jar containing a slab of butter on a string seems is the question I’m really getting at though.

One thing to note straight from the off though is that, according to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candles most candles centre on the use of real bees-wax, but paraffin (apparently not to be confused with parafin, which was used in the lamps that made candles became obsolete and purely decorative). However, the term wax dates back to 3000 BC when in Ancient Egyptians and Greeks used pure Beeswax. Some people believe (probably naturists) that using a beeswax base is better for the environment, but it’s generally acknowledged that highly-refined paraffin is as good if not better for the environment.

Anyway, enough rambling. Wax is good because it gives a cleaner flame and it’s a good fuel source and that’s all I could find. You probably could use a slab of butter if you liked (though that might melt a bit quickly). But surely if wax is highly combustible, it should burn shouldn’t it? So, how does the wax fuel the flame?

Good question, if I do say so myself. The candle-wick which is the opposite of flammable, not inflammable (Dr Nick: “Inflammable means flammable? What are crazy country!”), a fire retardant, brings melted wax, which is a mixture containing paraffin, or petroleum, to the flame and keeps it alight. Apparently, the ideal length for a candle wick is less than 6mm, because it’s better for the environment. There you are, now you know.

Candles were obviously used once for lights before bulbs, but now are used for decorative purposes. As a result, scents are given to many candles nowadays. Once upon a time however, the Chinese of medieval times used candles to tell the time. I would say this is an improvement on the sun-dial (you can tell what time it is at night) but still can you imagine synchronising candles, so that they all tell the same time? Can you imagine about Big Ben as a giant candle? That would be very cool.

Anyway, there you are. Wax. Much much more than the stuff in your ears. Anyone else have any s’candle’ous facts? Feel free to rant if I’ve got anything wrong too. Luke points up for grabs again!

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