A Peculiar Candlestick
Water supporting a lighted candle seems a very peculiar form of candlestick; and yet despite this it will be found quite as serviceable as any other.
To make the candlestick is quite easy. All you have to do is first to weight the end of a piece of candle (previously used) with a nail or piece of metal, in such a manner that, when placed in a vessel of water, the liquid will be flush with the edge of the candle without wetting the wick.
Next light the candle, and announce that, in spite of the unfavorable surroundings, your candle will burn to the end.
This may at first seem extraordinary, but a little reflection will show that your statement is correct, for this experiment is only a striking example of the Law of Archimedes, which states that “when a body is immersed in water, it loses in weight an amount equal to the weight of the water displaced.”
Now, whilst the candle is being consumed it is becoming shorter, but, on account of its diminution in weight, it rises in the water at the same rate at which it is consumed ([Fig. 10]).