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I was just having a discussion with some friends about candles, and I came up with a good question: do candles burn at a constant rate?

I would assume that the answer is no, as the bigger the candle, the more mass there is for the heat to distribute over. I know that it should burn at an approximately constant rate, as that is what people used to use as a timer back in the old days.

I don't know how to even start with this problem, so does anyone have any ideas?

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    $\begingroup$ you should fix your question to be more clear. "does a single candle burn at a constant rate" sounds like you are asking if a candle will burn faster or slower after it is lit. switch to: "do candles of different girths have their lengths melt at different speeds?" $\endgroup$
    – Steven Sagona
    Commented Sep 26, 2023 at 19:09
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    $\begingroup$ Consider the extreme case of some mega candle. You need the wick to also be scaling in size, else there will be parts of the candle that dont /ever/ melt. $\endgroup$
    – Steven Sagona
    Commented Sep 26, 2023 at 19:10
  • $\begingroup$ I understand that candles of different "girths" melt at different rates, up to an extent. However, I am more curious if given a single candle if the rate at which the candle melts changes as it burns more and more. $\endgroup$
    – Joshua G-F
    Commented Sep 26, 2023 at 19:16
  • $\begingroup$ Are you aware of candle clocks? $\endgroup$
    – Marius Ladegård Meyer
    Commented Sep 26, 2023 at 19:24
  • $\begingroup$ I am! But I'm curious how accurate they are. $\endgroup$
    – Joshua G-F
    Commented Sep 26, 2023 at 19:26

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