http://www.technoprimitive.org/wordpress/archives/2007/11/23/candle-heater/ Rumblings, Ramblings, and Ruminations Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:26:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 http://www.technoprimitive.org/wordpress/archives/2007/11/23/candle-heater/#comment-2733 Steve Sat, 24 Nov 2007 04:45:53 +0000 http://www.technoprimitive.org/wordpress/archives/2007/11/23/candle-heater/#comment-2733 OK, NOW I read your comments. I think that what is happening here is two-fold. No, there is not MORE energy being given off by the candle heater than by the candle, but both the radiant heat and the convected heat are being channeled by the ceramic. That is to say, the hot air rising from the candle is circulating around the flower pots, and I would think giving up the lion's share of its heat, which is then radiated off as infrared, instead of wafting to the ceiling via convection. Also, the visible light as well as the infrared being given off by the candle is being absorbed and then re-radiated by the ceramic. Of course, the visible component is being radiated as infrared--i.e., heat. So, there APPEARS to be more energy, but there is actually just more energy in a frequency range that we perceive as heat. I bet the little SOB DOES get kinda warm, the way the guy warns... That's my $0.02, anyway. I Am Not A Surfer Physicist, and I don't claim to have a unified theory based on either some weird geometric figure, or some weird arrangement of flower pots and rapidly oxidizing paraffin...though not as rapidly as Burt Rutan and company do in Spaceship One...no, wait, they're burning rubber, aren't they? (In more ways than one, I suppose...) Mythbusters used paraffin and NO2, I think. OK, NOW I read your comments. I think that what is happening here is two-fold. No, there is not MORE energy being given off by the candle heater than by the candle, but both the radiant heat and the convected heat are being channeled by the ceramic. That is to say, the hot air rising from the candle is circulating around the flower pots, and I would think giving up the lion’s share of its heat, which is then radiated off as infrared, instead of wafting to the ceiling via convection. Also, the visible light as well as the infrared being given off by the candle is being absorbed and then re-radiated by the ceramic. Of course, the visible component is being radiated as infrared–i.e., heat. So, there APPEARS to be more energy, but there is actually just more energy in a frequency range that we perceive as heat. I bet the little SOB DOES get kinda warm, the way the guy warns…
That’s my $0.02, anyway. I Am Not A Surfer Physicist, and I don’t claim to have a unified theory based on either some weird geometric figure, or some weird arrangement of flower pots and rapidly oxidizing paraffin…though not as rapidly as Burt Rutan and company do in Spaceship One…no, wait, they’re burning rubber, aren’t they? (In more ways than one, I suppose…) Mythbusters used paraffin and NO2, I think.

]]> http://www.technoprimitive.org/wordpress/archives/2007/11/23/candle-heater/#comment-2732 Steve Sat, 24 Nov 2007 04:28:01 +0000 http://www.technoprimitive.org/wordpress/archives/2007/11/23/candle-heater/#comment-2732 OK, looks like a step up from the "candle in a can" trick we used around here (pretty successfully, too) during the blizzard of '93. Also looks like a steel rod (threaded?) of some sort, with nuts and washers as spacers/heat sinks/radiant area enhancers. Methinks a quick trip to the local Ace hardware store would net you enough materials for $30 to build a few of these--a trip to trade day, even more. Cool idea though (no pun intended). Might have to nip off with a trio of the wife's flower pots, dig up some threaded rod/hardware and give this a try--outside, on the carport or other non-flammable area, until I see well it works--or if it works TOO well...saw the picture of the "pillar" candle that absorbed a little too much of its own reflected heat.. OK, looks like a step up from the “candle in a can” trick we used around here (pretty successfully, too) during the blizzard of ‘93. Also looks like a steel rod (threaded?) of some sort, with nuts and washers as spacers/heat sinks/radiant area enhancers. Methinks a quick trip to the local Ace hardware store would net you enough materials for $30 to build a few of these–a trip to trade day, even more. Cool idea though (no pun intended). Might have to nip off with a trio of the wife’s flower pots, dig up some threaded rod/hardware and give this a try–outside, on the carport or other non-flammable area, until I see well it works–or if it works TOO well…saw the picture of the “pillar” candle that absorbed a little too much of its own reflected heat..

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