An experiment has been demonstrated to show a phenomenon involving quenching of candle flames using magnetic fields. An electromagnet with a pair of columnar magnetic poles in which inner sidepieces were hollowed out was used. Magnetic fields of 1.5 T at the brim gave a gradient of 50ndash;300 T/m in the direction perpendicular to the pole axis when the distance of the airgap was in a range of 5ndash;10 mm. A candle was burned in the hollowed space between magnetic poles, and candle flames were exposed to magnetic fields. The flames were quenched a few seconds after the onset of field exposures. A model, called a lsquo;lsquo;magnetic curtain,rsquo;rsquo; was introduced to explain this phenomenon. It is assumed that the magnetic curtain is a wall of air which is formed by magnetic fields. The magnetic curtain, which is also called an lsquo;lsquo;air curtain,rsquo;rsquo; blocks air flow in and out of the hollowed space. The interception of oxygen by the magnetic curtain quenches flames. The magnetic curtain also presses back flames and other gases.
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