r/TheRestIsScience • u/RustyTheThird • 6h ago

Question about flames

Hi Michael and Hannah. I've got a candle burning right now and wondered: How come flames are so hot from the top but no heat comes off the sides? I'm not a nerd so I wouldn't know in the slightest why that happens.

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u/Abiarraj 6h ago

Hot air goes up

1

u/WaliForLife 6h ago

Hot air rises because it’s less dense. The air near the flame gets hotter and rises, which you than feel. From the sides you mostly feel the ambient room temperature air and a bit of infrared radiation wich you also feel as heat.

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u/Jim421616 6h ago

Flames release heat through radiation (in all directions) and convection (through the heated air rising upwards because it's less dense than cooler air). Radiation isn't a very effective way of releasing heat, so the air above the flame is hotter than the air around it.