The next time you look at the flame of a candle think about tiny diamond particles that contribute to its brilliance. As per Dr Wuzong Zhou from the St Andrews University there are 1.5 million diamond nanoparticles in a candle’s flame. A fact that the Chinese who invented the first candle more than 2,000 years ago could not have possibly known.
The professor of chemistry has found that the nanoparticles of diamonds are created every second that the candle burns and that they get burned away in the process. Dr Zhou is excited about the discovery since more research into the fact could help generate technology which would be able to create diamonds cheaper.
Dr Zhou conducted an experiment wherein he used a new sampling technique to remove particles from the centre of the flame. This found him all four known forms of carbon in the samples. This was a surprise, because each form is usually created under different conditions he said. He added that this would change the way we view a candle flame forever.
While a candle burns hydro-carbon molecules at the bottom of the flame are converted into carbon dioxide by the top of the flame. The process in between has so far not been studied. Now it is known that the center of the flame contains diamond nanoparticles, as well as fullerenic particles and graphitic and amorphous carbon.