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Faraday's Candle ObservationsRuss RileySouth Junior High School St. Cloud MN In 1860, Michael Faraday delivered the last of his very popular 'Christmas lectures' called 'The Natural History of a Candle'. His account has served as the basis for lessons in taking observations in science ever since. Here is a variation of this lesson, with some instructive details about Faraday himself. LessonsExtension Activities
The curriculum material here was developed as part of a project sponsored by SciMath-MN and The Bakken Library and Museum. Click to see directory of other curriculum modules using history and philosophy of science in this series.
INTRODUCTION:The idea for the science activities that follow came from a book entitled, THE CHEMICAL HISTORY OF A CANDLE, by Michael Faraday. The book, first published around 1860, was actually taken from notes written by William Crookes while he attended Faraday's lectures. A reprint or reproduction of the book was issued in 1960 by Viking Press as part of an Explorer Books series. It is that version that would likely be available for teachers to use as a reference.Michael Faraday, born in 1791, by all accounts displayed an early curiosity about the natural world and also had a great love of tools and fine workmanship. He is, of course, well known in the scientific world for his extensive work in the area of electricity and magnetism with a special interest in the area of electrochemistry. Much of his work was done during the nearly forty years he served as the Superintendent of the House and Laboratory at the Royal Institution in London. He also had a special interest in the process of thinking and learning. This interest, combined with a concern and love for children, led to the development of a series of lectures given to young people that became known as the "Christmas Lectures". Beginning just after Christmas in 1826 Faraday delivered the lectures himself a total of nineteen times covering the fields of chemistry, electricity and magnetism, gravitation, as well as other topics in physics. One of the last lectures to be given, delivered in December of 1860, approximately seven years before Faraday's death, was entitled, "The Chemical History of the Candle". As previously stated, this lecture was the basis for the book and the inspiration for the science activities that follow. It should be noted that the activities to follow are designed to be primarily an introduction to the scientific process. They are meant to stimulate curiosity, raise questions, and to begin the practice of making open minded observations. That young people learn to do this was obviously very important to Michael Faraday and thus is very useful as background for the observation activities. The use of a burning candle to practice the process of science is not new. However, these activities have been written specifically as a supplement to the Introductory Physical Science (IPS) curriculum. It is the intention and hope that other teachers will be inspired to modify and adapt as needed to fit individual situations.
LESSON 1OBJECTIVE: The student will practice making observations by:
PROCEDURE:
FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION:
OF POSSIBLE INTEREST:Experiments with a candle were demonstrated to young science students over 130 years ago by Michael Faraday, an English chemist. Try to find out something about Michael Faraday and his discoveries about science. There is even a book entitled, The Chemical History of a Candle.
LESSON 2OBJECTIVE: The student will develop questions from the observations.Before asking the students to raise questions about their candles give some brief background about Michael Faraday (See "Chemical History of a Candle" by Michael Faraday; Explorer Books by Viking Press; New York, 1963.) Read an excerpt from the Christmas Lecture Number 1, Page 9 to the students. "Now the greatest mistakes and faults with regard to candles, as in many other things, often bring with them instruction which we should not receive if they had not occurred. We come here to be philosophers (scientists) ; and I hope you will always remember that whenever a results happens, especially if it be new, you should say, 'What is the cause? Why does it occur?' and you in the course of time will find out the answer." This is done to emphasize the importance of asking questions and to develop an introductory interest in Michael Faraday.
LESSON 3OBJECTIVE: The student will compare the flame produced by a Bunsen Burner to that of a candle and reach conclusions based on observation data relative to the following questions:
Materials: 6 inch candle, semi micro burner,
heavy cardboard cards approximately 5 cm square) PROCEDURE:
OF POSSIBLE INTEREST:Find out about Robert Bunsen. Did he live before, after, or during the time of Michael Faraday? What do you believe led to the development of the Bunsen Burner? Be prepared to report to the class on your findings.
Extension Activities
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