What was it that happened to me? A Candle Story.

[Undesired Walrus]

Last night I was trying to light a candle in my room with some matches. Matches were dry, without a hint of damp on them or any other effect to prevent their job. As I saw.

The candle simply would not light, and after a few tries, with different matches I sat down and turned on my lamp instead. In the middle of my reading (7 million years: The tale of Human evolution: Very good.) I noticed a flame out of the corner of my eye, and low and behold, the candle had lit itself!

What the hell happened?

[cj.23]

How curious! The answer is I don't know exactly, but UncleMario and myself (J) spent ages trying to work out a similar case over on www.richarddawkins.net 's forum a couple of days back. We came up with an explanation of sorts, but lacked the science to check it out.

http://www.richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=33217

You might have to register to read it, but it's worth doing. The forum is very good, and there are masses of good threads which I like to reference. For those who can't be bothered, C02 was the basis of our idea. Mind oyu I think you'd do better with thsi in the Science bit! :)


cj x

[Spektator]

I assume the matches lit and that you held the match flame to the candle wick. Here's a hypothesis: The wick was impregnated with dried-out candle wax. The match ignited some of the fibers of the wick, but not enough of them to vaporize the wax and produce a steady flame. When you gave up, the wick still had a few fibers that were burning at a very low level, enough perhaps to produce a dull spark but not a full flame. These residual sparks gradually vaporized enough of the wax to ignite the wax vapor--and like magic, the candle "lit itself" (like those annoying birthday-cake candles that are designed to re-ignite after being blown out).

This is only a hypothesis, of course. Someone else might think a poltergeist with a Zippo lit the candle for you.

[sinclairmcevoy]

What Spektator said. That was my thought as well.
There must have been a tiny flame. (Poltergeists use Bic lighters)

[Ysidro]

Someone else successfully lit the candle while you were reading.

[kosai]

ball lightning.

[JoeEllison]

Hadouken?

[MG1962]

ball lightning.

Swamp gas

[Fnord]

a) Goddiddit.
b) The flame evolved from wax, wick, match and air.
c) Both a and b.
d) Neither a or b.

[lister]

Hadouken?

Yoga Flame more like ;):D

[CFLarsen]

Last night I was trying to light a candle in my room with some matches. Matches were dry, without a hint of damp on them or any other effect to prevent their job. As I saw.

The candle simply would not light, and after a few tries, with different matches I sat down and turned on my lamp instead. In the middle of my reading (7 million years: The tale of Human evolution: Very good.) I noticed a flame out of the corner of my eye, and low and behold, the candle had lit itself!

What the hell happened?

Sorry.

My bad.

I channeled some cuzmic energy your way and some of it got stuck on the way to Zeta Reticuli.

Won't happen again.

[cj.23]

Our theory on RD net was that the candle in that case had been lit before, and breathing on it flooded the hollow with carbon dioxide, heavier than oxygen, suppressing the flame. As the C02 moved in to the room, the candle flared up and burnt normally. Whether that works or not i don't know, but we worked on it as a theory

cj x

[Ron_Tomkins]

a) An internal combustion reaction far too complicated even for modern science too explain
b) The candle was already lighted, you just didn´t realize at first
c) The candle was never lit, you just thought it was
d) It was bigfoot

:D

[Ysidro]

d) It was bigfoot

:D

Invisible bigfoot, you mean!

[ZamuBa]

It was a weather balloon or weather phenomena. You didn't see or hear anything.



BTW: Could you have been too engrossed in your book to not notice someone lighting it for you?

[arthwollipot]

Invisible bigfoot, you mean!Dang! Beat me to it!

[LawnOven]

Its all very complicated, but it has something to do with quantum mechanics.

[Hellbound]

Our theory on RD net was that the candle in that case had been lit before, and breathing on it flooded the hollow with carbon dioxide, heavier than oxygen, suppressing the flame. As the C02 moved in to the room, the candle flared up and burnt normally. Whether that works or not i don't know, but we worked on it as a theory

cj x

The only problem with that is that your breath still contains a significant percentage of oxygen (otherwise CPR/rescue breathing would be a death sentence); it wouldn't smother the flame. Not to mention that stirring the air around it by breathing would actually work to bring more fresh oxygen to the wick area.

I suspect the dull ember theory is the most likely.

[Ron_Tomkins]

Invisible bigfoot, you mean!


:D




Or:


e) It´s an error in the Matrix (Like when there´s a Deja Vu)

[Fnord]

Its all very complicated, but it has something to do with quantum mechanics.

Quantum Resonance.

Or it´s an error in the Matrix (Like when there´s a Deja Vu).

[Tumblehome]

In trying to light the candle, you were chandling the wrong energy...

Otherwise, while acknowleding it has some glaring gaps, I also subscribe to the Small Persistent Ember Theory.

[TX50]

Invisible bigfoot, you mean!


Just imagine what a singed bigfoot must smell like! :eye-poppi

[Garrette]

Just imagine what a singed bigfoot must smell like! :eye-poppiDepends on the sauce, and you better be using charcoal instead of gas.

[kosai]

Not sure how the candle lit exactly however in a recent film titled "What the *Bleep* Won't We Believe"... A Japanese scientist has proven that candles retain a "flame memory."

[wombatwal]

Your guardian angel.

[Tressa]

Good thing you weren't trying to light your farts; a time delay would be bad, very bad.

[LazyPint]

Invisible bigfoot, you mean!

I now have an image of an incompetently piloted Bigfoot orb accidentally entering the room, bouncing randomly off the walls and ceiling (like a fly) before igniting the candle by mistake and flying away.

All while invisible, of course:)

[Hellbound]

Good thing you weren't trying to light your farts; a time delay would be bad, very bad.

I now have an image of an incompetently piloted Bigfoot orb accidentally entering the room, bouncing randomly off the walls and ceiling (like a fly) before igniting the candle by mistake and flying away.

All while invisible, of course:)

Maybe invisible bigfeet were lighting farts, and the candle ignition was the visible result of said actions?

[RSLancastr]

Bigfoot? Poltergeist? Dont be absurd.

It was lit by a flaming fairy.

[blutoski]

Last night I was trying to light a candle in my room with some matches. Matches were dry, without a hint of damp on them or any other effect to prevent their job. As I saw.

The candle simply would not light, and after a few tries, with different matches I sat down and turned on my lamp instead. In the middle of my reading (7 million years: The tale of Human evolution: Very good.) I noticed a flame out of the corner of my eye, and low and behold, the candle had lit itself!

What the hell happened?

I've had this happen before. Candles are burning wax, and it needs to melt to be wicked up.

But sometimes the wick itself burns dry, with no wax to wick up. The wick can just sit there embering until it either runs out of wick as fuel, in which case it will go out, or if you're lucky, it'll finally melt enough wax to start wicking up and burning, and then it's a normal candle flame from that point on.

There are practical joke candles that "can't be blown out" that work on this principle of having a slow-burning wick that takes time to re-melt the wax. Some also burn the candlesmoke.

I do a trick that gives the appearance of a jumping flame with a candle and a lighter. Candle smoke actually burns, so after you blow out the candle, flick the lighter in the smoke - the flame will jump down the smoke and the candle will light.