View Full Version : Candle in a very cold place


busybc
05-30-08, 11:01 PM
What is the minimum possible temperature that a candle can stay burning in a windless environment?

Will it be boiling point of oxygen? Curious about it..:)

Thanks!

Prince_James
05-30-08, 11:15 PM
Liquid oxygen burns, my good man. Ridiculously violently.

A standard candle would burn in any temperature with oxygen.

BenTheMan
05-31-08, 01:59 AM
Liquid oxygen burns, my good man. Ridiculously violently.

This is how we launch space shuttles...

Prince_James
05-31-08, 03:13 AM
Yes, precisely. Solid oxygen, too.

James R
05-31-08, 03:17 AM
Flame is produced at a certain temperature characteristic of the ingredients - the wax, the wick, the oxygen available, etc.

The ambient temperature doesn't really matter.

2inquisitive
05-31-08, 03:26 AM
Actually, oxygen will not burn on its own, it is an oxidizer, it supports combustion of other fuels when in its gaseous state.

A candle would not burn if it were in an oxygen rich enviroment where the ambient temperature was below -298 degrees F, as the oxygen would be in its liquid state, unable to evaporate into a gas to support burning.