| > | I got some candles out and lit them but could not see this effect. What 
| > | was your setup? I did however see some interesting diffraction effects 
| > | by shining a flashlight at a candle flame in a darkened room and 
| > | observing the "shadow" on a white wall.
| > 
| > I shone a laser pointer right through a flame and noticed nothing. 
| > Why does he still kick his mother in the stomach? 
| > 
| 
| I did the same thing, nothing. Try a flashlight.

No way. If want to see diffraction the easiest way is a CD or DVD.
 http://www.mrfiber.com/images/cddiffract.jpg
 http://static.flickr.com/47/147127866_48f2193c2c_m.jpg

My point was his question was presumptuous. 
Do you still beat your mother?
a) Yes:  
   You are an evil tyrant.
b) No: 
   When did you stop, evil tyrant?

In this newsgroup, such questions are all too common. 

Why does fire have a shadow? 
That's not a question I can answer because it doesn't.