Candles

Candles
Fire tempered!

Candles were a little confusing to me at first, I thought they were made of all kinds of different thigns, but when it came down to it candles are actually really simple.

Fire is essentially the rapid oxidation of a material when breaking carbon bonds (organic material) though not always. This includes wood, any animal part,  and petroleum products which are condensed animal life.

Fire itself needs: Heat, Oxygen, and fuel. As it is, the actual fire (what you see as the light) is turning the fuel into gas which is reppidly bonding to the oxygen in an exothermic reaction (creating more heat) but if you remove the heat from the break down the fuel, you got nothing.

Anyway.

Again, you need fuel, oxygen, and heat.
In a fire, the wood is the fuel, in a candle - fat or wax is the fuel. Bee's wax and parafin wax are probably the most commonly used, but you can used lard, tallow, butter (yes butter) or any condensed carbon substances (bone?) It does need a lead though, a wick.

The simplest candle I've made is a butter candle - by taking a sick of butter, and pushing a cleanex into it with a tooth pick. It's not the cleanest burning candle, but it works.

A slighly more complex candel is to take wax, melt it (in a pot over boiling water) then poor it into a glass container with a hanging wick. (to keep it in place).

There are slightly more complex ways (double dipping candles to give then tapered affect, but it's still the same principal.

I actually had a funny time learning this, mostly because there were so many articles about making candles out of coconut oil, and other fregrences or color additives, which are fine, but not necessary.

So go make a candle (or 5!)