The Chemical History of a Candle
by Michael Faraday
ISBN 0-486-42542-8

Reviewed by Mike Dziekan
VP Engineering
Connecticut Analytical Corporation

Michael Faraday, a man with little formal education, is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time. He is also considered the father of electrical engineering. During the Christmas holidays of 1860 and 1861, Faraday presented a series of six lectures before a Juvenile Auditory at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. In addition to these six lectures, this book includes an additional lecture on the element platinum.

Faraday was an amazing individual who overcame many setbacks with determination and perseverance. When he was an apprenticed book binder, Faraday attended a series of lectures given by Sir Humphrey Davy and took detailed notes. He later transcribed the lectures into a note book and presented it to Sir Humphrey, who offered Faraday a job.

In addition to my admiration of the great Michael Faraday, SAS’s own Forrest M. Mims III remarked that he considered Michael Faraday “a great inspiration and personal hero.” Albert Einstein stated that he considered Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, and James Clerk Maxwell as three of the most influential people in the history of science. This book was recommended to me by 2002 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Dr. John B. Fenn, who is also a long standing member of the Michael Faraday fan club.

So what about the title of the book, “The Chemical History of a Candle"? Does this mean that Faraday is going to teach you how to put Yankee Candle out of business? No, but he does delve into chemical theory about how candles function, details of combustion, and how flames are categorized. He does all this with a rare enthusiasm and excitement about the often overlooked chemical nature of a so-called “simple process.”

Some may ask, "What is there to know? You light a candle, the wax melts, and it burns." Faraday’s genius was to see much further than this as he explored many aspects of what is really happening. For instance, why is the flame colored the way it is when it is burning? What keeps it from burning out of control? What exactly is in the flame that is burning or glowing incandescently?

I have always thought that the burning of a candle is so common an event that it did not warrant any additional thought or exploration. But I am very happy to say that I was very wrong! Michael Faraday’s burning desire to illuminate the process of a candle burning, by firing our imagination and melting away all our prejudices, casts a whole new light on the subject. (Yes, I did mean to include the puns.)