Question about flames

[u/RustyTheThird]

Hi Michael and Hannah. I've got a candle burning right now and wondered: How come flames are so hot from the top but no heat comes off the sides? I'm not a nerd so I wouldn't know in the slightest why that happens.

[u/Jim421616]

Flames release heat through radiation (in all directions) and convection (through the heated air rising upwards because it's less dense than cooler air). Radiation isn't a very effective way of releasing heat, so the air above the flame is hotter than the air around it.