The Inexplicable Beauty of Michael Faraday's Chemical History of a Candle Lectures

Faraday's History of a Candle Pick Preview image

Bill Hammack- never heard of him, right? I love his videos as he dissects the physics and chemistry of how things work. Nothing fancy or gimmicky. Just good ol' experimentation, acute observation, rational deduction, and contagious curiosity.

 

He does one of his best jobs (my opinion) with Michael Faraday's The Chemical History of a Candle. Can't get much better binge-watching than the videos listed below- poetic language, simple and elegant demos, and a common phenomenon, almost always ignored, yet relevatory in its own right about science, the knowable underpinnings of the physical world, and the critical interplay among insightful observations, proper experimentation, and logical deduction. Get a bowl (or two) of popcorn, your favorite beverage(s), and sit back and enjoy. 

 

Introduction
Lecture 1: A Candle: Sources of the Flame
Lecture 2: Brightness of the Flame
Lecture 3: Products of Combustion
Lecture 4: The Nature of the Atmosphere
Lecture 5: Respiration and Its Analogy to the Burning of a Candle

 

And as a bonus you can watch the lectures with Commentary and download for free teaching and lecture guides and student activities (in pdf format).

Publication information
Pick Attribution: 
Publication Date: 
Tuesday, May 7, 2019