2

I get how an oil lamp runs until the fuel runs out, but a normal wax candle doesn't seem like it works the same way.

Qmechanic
  • 220,844
user1717828
  • 1,450
  • 9
  • 19

1 Answers1

10

From Wikipedia: Paraffin wax is a white or colorless soft solid derivable from petroleum, coal or oil shale, that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between twenty and forty carbon atoms.

As stated above, paraffin wax is a hydrocarbon that is a soft solid at room temperature. When it melts, it becomes the combustible fuel for the flame, just like the oil in the lamp you mentioned. The melted paraffin climbs the wick.

Bill N
  • 15,522