What's Inside A Flame?

A flame is like a tiny, hot dance party inside a matchstick or a candle, and we can peek into it!

When you light a match, the matchstick starts to burn. Inside it, there are special helpers called fuels, which are like little energy balls ready to go. When you light the match, these fuels meet up with oxygen, something we breathe in every day, and they start a party: they combine, making heat and light.

The heat from this dance makes the air around it move, like when hot soup rises from a pot. This moving air carries tiny bits of burned fuel up into the flame, which is why flames often look yellow or orange, it’s like the glow from a fire pit in your backyard.

If you get close to a flame, you might feel warm and even see tiny bits of soot floating around, that's just the party leftovers! A flame is like a tiny, hot dance party inside a matchstick or a candle, and we can peek into it!