Lighting a Candle…
Considering the Triangle of Fire, our candle that is ready to be lit, has an abundance of Oxygen in the air surrounding it, and a large reserve of Fuel, (which is the wax that the candle is made of)… Now, in order to start the combustion process by completing the Triangle of Fire, all that needs to be added is Heat.
When applying the heat from a match, or gas lighter, always aim the flame at the bottom of the wick where it protrudes from the candle. This will cause the wax of the candle to start melting from the heat of the applied source. This melted wax will now soak into the wick and begin the capillary “journey” to the top of the wick where the heat of the flame will vapourise the wax and combustion can continue.
Simply presenting the flame to the top of the wick, a distance above the candle wax, will ignite any wax that may already be present in the wick which might burn for a short time. However, when the wax in the wick runs out, the candle might not remain lit.