Candle flame is repelled by magnets (and Zeeman follow-up)

2018-07-15

[public] 249K views, 9.6K likes, 115 dislikes audio only

Why is a candle flame repelled by magnets? It turns out to be a combination of diamagnetic soot particles and hot gas.

Dr. Faraday on the diamagnetic condition: https://books.google.com/books?id=Shc8boMnrBoC&pg=RA3-PA406&lpg=RA3-PA406#v=onepage&q&f=false

On Flame and Gases: https://books.google.com/books?id=D8NAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA187&lpg=PA187#v=onepage&q&f=false

I should have mentioned in the video that the exhaust from a flame will be oxygen-poor, thus also making it more diamagnetic than normal air. Air is a mixture of nitrogen (diamagnetic) and oxygen (paramagnetic). Removing the oxygen will make the resulting gas more diamagnetic.

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