It took a lot of tweaking — and a lot of MOSFETs — to get the candle to produce a stable flame. But once it did, the results were striking. The plasma coming off the breakout point on the ...

1. Ask the adult you are working with to light the candle. 2. Watch the candle flame start out small and get bigger. Notice how some of the wax near the wick melts. 3. As the flame burns, the wax from ...

Some commentators suggested using this approach in low- and zero-gravity situations, as found in space stations, where regular fire extinguishers based around smothering a flame aren’t as practical.

And we’ve all had this low-light problem ... where he (we’re assuming it’s a he) is near the candle, you lose the effect of the flame. But you can see him, which you can barely do when ...