Customer Reviews

The Chemical History of a Candle (Michael Faraday)

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4 star:		(1)
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When Michael Faraday first introduced his "Christmas Lectures" over 100 years ago, he truly wowed the crowd. The man loved nature & science & eagerly presented his lessons in the most delightful manner and this book captures the fullness of his style. These lectures were originally intended for the youth of 19th century London but even today's savy students will be keen for this slender volume which delights, teaches and holds your attention. I am already recommending this book to our home school organization as an example of a 'good read' which brings elegant literature to the usually dry topic of science. It's exactly the type of book that will stir real interest in the subject, in young and old alike.

This book changed my life.

During my Junior year, I decided to change my major from English (future law student) to physics. I went online, read reviews (thanks Amazon!) and ended up buying this book, Feynman's lectures, Dirac's quantum mechanics, and Bondii's relativity. To say that I look upon the summer spent reading these books fondly would be the understatement of a lifetime--I wish I could go back and learn it all again!

This book breathes science like few others. I only wish everyone (layman and professional) had an ear for the simple beauty which Dr. Faraday makes so plain.

I enjoy reading physics texts, but I had never really enjoyed reading transcripts of lectures (in any subject). This book, however, was definitely worth the time and effort to read.

Even though most of the concepts are simple, basic physics, I still learned things. Most wonderful of all were the many times a lightbulb clicked on in my mind when I saw how simply and cleverly Faraday constructed his experiments. These guys really had it together.

Though somewhat devoid of helpful diagrams, the text of this work is often enough to give the reader a good idea of how Faraday was conducting his experiments and presentation. I think the biggest detractor is that you really have to slog through the work and use your imagination to figure out what he's describing.

My only wish is that I could have been there to see these lectures myself. Sounds like quite the demonstration.

Michael Faraday was one of the most brilliant scientists in history, yet was largely self-taught. He was a modest and upright Christian, who, while he had no children of his own, particularly enjoyed lecturing to children. Many of these lectures were done at the holidays and became known as the "Christmas Lectures." The Christmas Lectures are still put on by the Royal Institution, and are now televised, by the way.

This book is an introductory treatise on the combustion of candles. If this doesn't sound interesting, think again. The book is actually a collection of transcripts of lectures given, and includes Faraday's diagrams on the experiments performed onstage. These were quite spectacular for the day, and all evidence points to him being an excellent and absorbing speaker capable of motivating people towards an interest in science. These lectures are great as they illustrate many basic chemical and physical processes and the common sense approach Faraday used to reason through difficult problems. As a prime example, please review the excellent discourse on nitrogen in lecture five.

Of course, given the audience these lectures were intended for, this isn't a mathematically or stoichiometry based book (largely, anyway), but is great at capturing the essence of the chemistry and physics of combustion. Some readers will be aghast at the cavalier way he treats some things (notably mercury vapor,) but much more is known now about these hazards.

One thing I really liked about the book, though some may not, is his insightful and colorful use of language: for instance, he describes capillary attraction as "the attraction of the hairs," and perhaps most colorfully, describes lycopodium as "the lightning of the pantomimes." (I have to admit that I had to look lycopodium up: it is, in fact, "any of a large genus [Lycopodium] of erect or creeping club mosses with reduced or scalelike evergreen leaves," or, "a fine yellowish flammable powder composed of lycopodium spores and used especially in pharmacy" according to my Merriam-Webster dictionary.) This language is lyrical and evocative, and I think makes the book more enjoyable, though occasionally challenging.

For an interesting introduction to the science of combustion, "The Chemical History of a Candle" is still the outstanding classic of the centuries, and I recommend it highly.

I was so excited to get this book--I splurged the extra five dollars to get the most up-to-date edition. The book is 71 pages long and has 38 illustrations, so clearly the illustrations are a critical part of the book.

But none of the illustrations are actually included--where the illustration should be, it just says, for example [Illustration Fig. 30.] It's really a disappointment. If you go here: [the website won't post, but you can easily find it online], you'll find a copy of the book with all the illustrations--and the whole book is free.

Faraday is a genius. This edition of his seminal work? Not.

This is a book printed with care and great aesthetic sense. The text is easy to understand (I swear to you, it is interesting). It convinced me that Faraday was a very good teacher, not just a great inventor and chemist. And if you read between the lines, you will see that he had a beautiful soul.
This is a great gift for any student or any curious adult.

A man with little formal education, Michael Faraday is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and is also regarded as the Father of electrical engineering. During the Christmas Holidays of 1860 and 1861, Michael Faraday presented a series of six lectures before a Juvenile Auditory at the Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Albert Einstein stated that he considered Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, and James Clerk Maxwell as three of the most influential people in the history of science.

So what about the title of the book - "The Chemical History of a Candle". Does this mean that Michael Faraday is going to teach you how to put Yankee Candle out of business? No, but he does delve into chemical theory about how candles function, details of combustion, and how flames are categorized. He does all this with a rare enthusiasm and excitement about the often overlooked chemical nature of a so called "simple process".

I hesitate to compare the writing in this historical text to Shakespeare, however it will make you wish you could write this well. This is a highly entertaining book for people of all education levels with truly beautiful language.

Faraday first gave a "The Chemical History of a Candle" in 1849.

Here's part of the introduction:

"And before proceeding, let me say this also: that though our subject be so great, and our intention that of treating it honestly, seriously, and philosophically, yet I mean to pass away from all those who are seniors amongst us. I claim the privilege of speaking to juveniles as a juvenile myself. I have done so on former occasions and, if you please, I shall do so again. And though I stand here with the knowledge of having the words I utter given to the world, yet that shall not deter me from speaking in the same familiar way to those whom I esteem nearest to me on this occasion.
And now, my boys and girls, I must first tell you of what candles are made..."

My godmother brought me this book because I had to read it for school. This book was not amusing to me and to me his lectures were boring just like some teachers. At first I had interest in the book and then later on through the book I didn't want to read it anymore. You really have to love science and chemistry to read this book. I'm a junior in highscool so I think a lot of other teenagers will agree with me.