Abstract
My investigation into the nature of candle light yielded some interesting results. I initially had no idea what I would find. A good portion of the experiment involved learning how to adjust the parameters of the spectrometer in order to produce valid results. After numerous attempts and modifications I found that the flame of a candle is essentially a blackbody radiator with properties of a line spectrum.

Introduction
The literature on the nature of candle light is relatively scarce. Flame spectrometry is a field that studies the emission and atomic absorption of the flames that result from burning different materials. This field, however does not investigate the properties of candle light because the wick of a candle is not a specific element. The fuel of a candle flame is a mixture of chemical compounds comprised mostly of carbon and hydrogen atoms. In the combustion process the fuel is combined, through an exothermic chemical reaction, with oxygen from the air to form carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O).

The candle flame is supported by a continual influx of air entrained by buoyant flow which mixes with vaporized fuel from the wick. This generates a self-sustaining flame and flow configuration. The heat evolved by this process heats up and vaporizes some of the fuel, and also heats up the oxygen, nitrogen, and other atmospheric gases.

The diffusion of oxygen in the candle flame is the limiting factor determining the rate at which the flame burns. An ordinary candle flame is actually quite oxygen-starved, and the vaporized fuel molecules, at the elevated temperatures in the flame itself, wind up combining with other fuel molecules. Incomplete combustion of fuel molecules also results in the formation of small carbon particles. Together, the polymerized fuel and carbon particles make up soot. And when the soot is formed, it is very hot, and emits a great deal of blackbody radiation. The color of this radiation is in the red orange yellow range. Chemical reactions in the flame plasma also emit radiation, so the emission spectrum of a complete candle flame can be quite complex. However, the characteristic continuum spectrum of the blackbody radiation from the soot is the dominant feature.

Procedure
All experiments were conducted using the spectrometer in Shattuck. Results were read through the CCD array in the spectral mode, this reads the intensity of the light as a function of the wavelength. The candle was placed directly in front of the aperture so as to allow a sufficient amount of light inside. Various parameters were chosen in order to produce conclusive results.

The specrometer tends to be rather sensitive in that minor fluctuations in the flame alter the spectral analysis. I found that moving the candle slightly from side to side alters the readings as well. The analysis showed differing intensities and slightly altered patterns for different positions.

My final approach involved the use of a filter, this method proved to be the most effective in producing conclusive results. My first scan with the filter ranged from 550 to 1000 nm.

Results
The final pattern observed was a blackbody-like spectrum with a line spectrum superimposed (Chart #5). In a closer examination of this region the two line spectra are visible near the 770 nm mark (Chart #6). These charts show an unusual stairstep pattern, this results from an instrumental artifact associated with the CCD array. The stairstep pattern is systematic appearing in each scan.

The spectrum of an object's blackbody radiation is determined by the object's temperature, and by its emissivity. The maximum wavelength of a blackbody spectrum is particular to the temperature that that body radiates. This is the wavelength at which the body radiates the most energy. Temperature and wavelength are related by the equation LAMBDA(max)*TEMPERATURE=0.002898m.K (constant). My calculation of the yielded a temperature of about 3000 Kelvin, this value is far to high seeing as the typical value of the temperature of a candle flame is approximately 1900 Kelvin. This discrepency is a result of the spectrometer becoming less and less sensitive to larger wavelengths causing the curve to decline too early.

Conclusion
This experiment was instrumental in allowing me to learn how to operate the spectrometer. I found that, in order to produce valid results, a lot of adjustment was necessary due to the sensitivity of the machine. I found that the use of the filter was effective in producing an intensity that would not cause the instrument to saturate yet would allow enough light to observe the pattern.

It is interesting that such a common flame, a candle flame, is so complex. Most of flame spectrometry involves the analysis of flames produced by burning individual elements and examining their spectra. A candle wick is a combination of different materials and is constantly fueled by the wax, this produces a unique combination of blackbody radiation and a line spectrum.
Consulted Works

Dean, John A. and Rains, Theodore C.; Flame Emission and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry; Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1971 (volumes 1,2 and 3)

http://cpl.usc.edu/PACIFIC/Completed_Work/27symp.htm

http://www.x20.org/library/thermal/blackbody.htm

http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/specrend/