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How did Otto von Guericke demonstrate that air is needed for a candle to burn?
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combustion
Learn about the chemistry of lighting a match.
In 1650, the German physicist Otto von Guericke invented the air pump, a device that allowed him to create a partial vacuum. He used this invention to demonstrate the necessity of air for combustion by placing a candle inside a container and pumping the air out. His experiment showed that the candle would not burn in the absence of air, providing early empirical evidence that air is required for the process of combustion.12