A saga explaining a candle /
(Complexity disarmed/dismantled /
In trial-and-error ways /
From one Michael Faraday) /
Sheds light on themes too hot to handle.
This week’s post summarizes a fascinating record from the history of science that, as with many themes I examine here, I was fully unaware of before beginning these essays. It will take a brief look at “The Chemical History of a Candle,” a set of lectures and demonstrations from chemist and physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867).
“A saga explaining a candle…”
London’s Royal Institution hosts a long-standing tradition entitled the Christmas Lectures, in which a renowned scientist presents on a subject of particular interest to students during the December holiday season. In 1848, the theme was “The Chemical History of a Candle.”
“(Complexity disarmed/dismantled /
In trial-and-error ways /
From one Michael Faraday)”
Via the familiar example of a candle, scientist Michael Faraday introduced an astoundingly wide range of complex topics in his 1848 lecture, as can still be read in the record of his lectures at Project Gutenberg. He states in the introduction: “There is no better, there is no more open door by which you can enter into the study of natural philosophy, than by considering the physical phenomena of a candle.”
Via experiments and demonstrations (in the moment), along with the written explanations recorded for posterity, Faraday discusses complex themes including the molecular composition of the candle and mechanisms of combustion. His communication style is clearly geared towards students; he “disarms [and] dismantles” complex jargon by working through questions methodically, addressing his audience directly, and encouraging the students to follow his thought process. (In many ways, Faraday’s theme addresses Alan Alda’s famous Flame Challenge, nearly two centuries before it was posed!) Additionally, the lectures were accompanied by the “trial-and-error” of thorough demonstrations.
These lectures were an inspiring find. I had encountered Faraday primarily with respect to his disciplinary insights into physics and chemistry throughout my schooling, given his research related to electricity and magnetism. It was fascinating to read of his interest in science communication and public service, as well.
“Sheds light on themes too hot to handle.”
The last line primarily connects back to two common idioms related to the behavior of a candle, related to its light and heat, and acknowledges that these lectures would have played a major role in demystifying a complex set of topics.
***
I will also note here that the idea of a broader, more historical look at a candle also highlights a further connection back to Jonathan Swift‘s famous allusion to “sweetness and light” (by way of his 1704 “Battle of the Books“). He invokes there a fable involving the honeybee and the spider. The bee is responsible for two larger phenomena of sweetness and light, respectively, via honey and beeswax; the beeswax in particular is commemorated via its crucial role in candle formation and thus the production of light.
I spent much of my time in graduate school examining highly technical, jargon-heavy views on combustion, so I am always fascinated to find much more lyrical discussions of similar themes in literature and history. This tangent will likely be worth a future essay of its own, but I’ll just acknowledge for now that I am most aware of these larger themes via their discussion in Stephen Jay Gould’s The Hedgehog, the Fox, and the Magister’s Pox, which I summarized in a post last summer.
Chemphasis 