a mechanism, known as capillary action, to transport the fuel, typically melted candle wax, to the flame. When the liquid fuel reaches the flame where it vaporizes and burns. Capillary action or capillarity (also known as capillary motion) is the ability of a narrow tube to draw a liquid upwards against the force of gravity. ... Wax has traditionally referred to a substance that is secreted by bees (beeswax) and used by them in constructing their honeycombs. ... Evaporation is the process whereby atoms or molecules in a liquid state (or solid state if the substance sublimes) gain sufficient energy to enter the gaseous state. ...

Most candle wicks are impregnated or coated with wax to provide the initial fuel source when the candle is lighted. While the wick is consumed in the process of burning a candle the real fuel for the flame is the melted wax. As such all wicks are treated with various flame retardant solutions in a process known as mordanting. Without mordanting the wick would be destroyed by the flames and the flow of melted wax to the flame would cease. Look up Mordant on Wiktionary, the free dictionary A mordant is a substance used to set dyes. ...

Candle wicks are normally made out of braided cotton, and may contain a stiff core. This core was traditionally made of lead, however lead wick cores have been banned in the US for several decades, by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, due to concerns about lead poisoning. Zinc is often used as a safer replacement for lead in this application. Other core stiffeners, such as paper and synthetic fibers may also be used. Step by step creation of a basic braid using three strings To braid is to interweave or twine three or more separate strands of one or more materials in a diagonally overlapping pattern. ... Picking cotton in Georgia Cotton is a soft fiber that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to the tropical and subtropical regions of both the Old World and the New World. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish white Atomic mass 207. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: United States Wikinews has news related to this article: United States United States government CIA World Factbook Entry for United States House. ... The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government created in 1972 to protect “against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products”. As of 2005 its chairman is Hal Stratton. ... Lead poisoning is a condition, also known as plumbism or painters colic, caused by increased blood serum lead levels. ... General Name, Symbol, Number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Atomic mass 65. ...

The characteristics of the candle wick has a major effect on how the candle burns. Larger diameter wicks typically result in a larger flame, a larger pool of metled wax, and the candle burning faster. Wicks are sometime flat braided, so that as they burn, they also curl back into the flame, and thus are self-consuming. Prior to the introduction of these wicks special scissors called snuffers were used to trim the excess wick without extinguishing the flame. However, the meaning of the word has shifted to now mean extinguishing a candle's flame.