Candles originated from torches in primitive times. Primitive people applied things like fat or wax on bark or wood chips and tied them together to make torches for lighting. Beeswax, which appeared around the 3rd century BC, may be the prototype of the candles seen today. In the West, for a period of time, bees were kept in monasteries and used to make beeswax. This was mainly because Catholics believed that beeswax was a symbol of virgin conception, so beeswax was regarded as the light of purity and was enshrined on the altar of the church. . Judging from the existing literature, beeswax was produced in my country at roughly the same time as in the West. Japan introduced this kind of candle from my country during the Nara Period (710-784). Compared with modern candles, ancient candles had many shortcomings. . Li Shangyin, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem: "Why should I cut the candles from the western window?" Why did the poet cut the candle? At that time, the candle wick was made of cotton thread and stood upright in the center of the flame. It could not be burned out and became charred, so the remaining ends of the candle wick had to be cut off with scissors from time to time. This is undoubtedly a troublesome thing. In 1820, the Frenchman Jean Bachier invented a candle wick made of three cotton threads, which naturally loosened when the candle wick burned, and the end just tilted to the outside of the flame, so it could be completely burned. However, candles still need to be further improved. Its materials are generally animal fats with many shortcomings. It was Scheveler and others who solved this problem. Between June and July 1809, French scientist Scheffler received a letter from a textile factory, asking him to analyze and determine the composition of a soft soap sample they sent. He thought about this letter for a long time and thought: To study soap, it seems that we have to start with raw material oil. In a school experiment with very simple and simple equipment, he studied various oils and fats needed to be used in the saponification process. After a lot of experiments, he discovered for the first time the fact that in all oils, regardless of their source, fatty acid content accounts for 95%, and the remaining 5% is glycerin generated during the saponification process. Through research, he clarified the nature of the saponification process. At the same time, he also made a major discovery: the candles made of grease at that time had glycerin in them, and when they burned, the flames contained smoke and had an unpleasant smell. If stearic acid is used instead to make a candle, it will not only have a bright flame when burning, but also almost no black smoke and will not pollute the air. Scheffler told Guy-Lussac of his findings and suggested that the two of them work together to study how to specifically solve this problem. They used strong alkali to saponify the oil, and then decomposed the resulting soap with hydrochloric acid to extract stearic acid. This is a white substance that feels greasy to the touch. Candles made from it are soft and cheaper. In 1825, Scheffler and Guy-Lussac obtained a patent for the production of paraffin stearate candles. The emergence of paraffin stearate candles created a new era in the history of human lighting. Later, someone discovered large oil fields in North America, and a large amount of paraffin wax could be extracted from the oil. Therefore, ideal candles were popularized and promoted around the world.
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