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Lava Lamps
The lava lamp was invented by Edward Craven-Walker of the United Kingdom in 1963. The slowly rising and falling blobs fascinated people in the 1960’s and still do today. Making various simplified versions of the lava lamp is a popular science project. This is the place to find answers about the history and the mysterious workings of the lava lamp.
433 Questions
Will different oils in a lava lamp effect the way it works?
Yes, different oils in a lava lamp can affect the way it works. The density and viscosity of the oil can impact the flow of the blobs in the lamp, altering its movement and overall appearance. It's important to use the recommended type of oil for optimal performance.
Is a lava lamp a compound or a mixture?
A lava lamp is considered a mixture. It is a combination of oil, water, and wax that behaves as a solution when heated.
The Lava Lamp was invented by English entrepreneur Edward Craven Walker in 1963. He was inspired by an oil and water experiment he saw in a pub, leading him to develop the Lava Lamp as a decorative lighting novelty.
Why do the blobs of wax rise and fall in a lava lamp?
The blobs of wax in a lava lamp rise and fall because of differences in their densities. As the wax heats up, it becomes less dense and rises to the top. When it cools down, it becomes denser and sinks back down. This process creates the mesmerizing flowing effect in a lava lamp.
What temperature does it take to heat a lava lamp?
A lava lamp typically operates at 140-170 degrees Fahrenheit (60-77 degrees Celsius) to heat the wax and create the lava lamp effect.
What causes the oil to rise in a lava lamp?
The oil in a lava lamp rises because it is heated by a bulb at the base of the lamp, causing it to expand and become less dense than the water. As the oil heats up, it becomes lighter and rises to the top of the lamp. When it reaches the top and cools down, it becomes denser again and sinks back down to repeat the cycle.
Touch lamps work by sensing changes in capacitance when a person touches the lamp's metal base or any metal surface on the lamp. This change in capacitance triggers the lamp to turn on or off. The lamp is designed to detect the small electrical charge that flows through our body when we touch it.
If you shake up a lava lamp does it go back to normal?
Shaking a lava lamp may disturb the flow of the liquid inside. It is recommended to let the lamp sit for several hours to allow the contents to settle back to their normal state before turning it on again.
How does a lava lamp work using conduction and radiation?
The coil at the bottom heats up when turned on, making the now hot wax molecules spread apart and rise. at the top the wax molecules cool, crowd together, and sink. The coil at the bottom heats up when turned on, making the now hot wax molecules spread apart and rise. at the top the wax molecules cool, crowd together, and sink.
How is the lava lamp energy transferred?
In a lava lamp, the energy is primarily transferred through heat. The heat source at the bottom of the lamp warms up the wax, causing it to rise and then cool down, which makes it sink back down. This continuous cycle of heating and cooling creates the mesmerizing, flowing motion seen in a lava lamp.
What is the stuff that floats in lava lamps?
The floating material in lava lamps is a combination of wax and a colored liquid solution. When heated by the light bulb at the base of the lamp, the wax melts and rises to the top of the lamp. As the wax cools, it descends back to the bottom, creating the mesmerizing lava lamp effect.
To refill a lava lamp, first unplug and allow it to cool completely. Use a funnel to pour a mixture of distilled water and food-grade mineral oil into the lamp until it's about three-quarters full. Then, add a few drops of liquid dish soap, close the lamp securely, and allow it to warm up for a few hours before turning it on.
The source of the heat is from the interior of the Earth; from radioactive decay, gravitationally created friction, and residual heat from Earth's creation. Magma forms when hot (very hot) rocks experience a drop in surrounding pressure, or when subducted wet lithosphere is introduced into the mantle and melts. When it "breaks out" onto the surface of the earth, we call it lava.
How does a homemade lava lamp work?
A homemade lava lamp works by using a combination of oil and water mixed with food coloring inside a container. When an Alka-Seltzer tablet is added, it reacts with the water to create bubbles that rise up through the oil, carrying droplets of food coloring with them. This creates the lava lamp effect as the colored bubbles move up and down in the container.
A lava lamp contains a special wax mixture, usually made of paraffin wax, mineral oil, and dye. When the lamp is heated by a light bulb at the base, the wax melts and floats around in the liquid, creating the mesmerizing lava-like effect.
The lava lamp uses a process called convection. As the wax heats up, it expands, creating a greater volume so its density decreases. This makes it less dense than the surrounding liquid, causing it to rise. When the wax reaches the top of the lamp, away from the heat source, it begins to cool down. This causes the wax to contract, creating a less volume increasing its density. The wax then becomes more dense than the surrounding liquid, causing it to sink, and the cycle starts over again.
The lava lamp contains two substances which are a very closely guarded secret by the makers of lava lamps. Employees are required to sign confidentiality agreements when they are hired. So it is unknown what the two substances are exactly. One is a thick oily substance the other is a waxy type substance. A light bulb underneath the liquid part of the lamp lights the lamp and also creates just enough heat to expand the molecules in the waxy substance making it lighter than the oily substance therefore it rises in the lamp. As the waxy substance rises and travel away from the heat source, it becomes cooler and more dense which makes it then fall back to the bottom of the lamp where it then repeats the this process over and over and over.
The light at the bottom of the lamp gradually heats up the material at the bottom, which therefore expands (slightly) and thus becomes less dense, causing it to slowly float upwards; when it is farther from the light is will slowly cool off, contract, and sink. So the process repeats endlessly, until the light burns out.
In the lamp you have two liquids which are:
- Very close in density
- Insoluble in one another
Oil and water are insoluble in one another (that's where the expression "oil and water don't mix" comes from), but oil and water have very different densities (a volume of water weighs a lot more than the same volume of oil). They won't work, so you search to find two liquids that are very close in density and are insoluble. This site can help you in that search.
Now you apply heat to the bottom of the mixture. In a liquid motion lamp, the heat usually comes from a light bulb. The heavier liquid absorbs the heat, and as it heats up, it expands. As it expands it becomes less dense. Because the liquids have very similar densities, the formerly heavier liquid is suddenly lighter than the other liquid, so it rises. As it rises, it cools, making it denser and therefore heavier, so it sinks.
This all happens in slow motion because heat absorption and dissipation are fairly slow processes, and the density changes we are discussing here are very slight.
The liquid in a lava lamp is ethylene glycol (your basic antifreeze) and wax which melts from the heat of the lamp which together create the action described above.
What does the liquid inside of a lava lamp consist of?
It is usually wax that melts as the lamp is turned on. When it is heated, it then begins to float around with the convection current created by the heat-generating lamp, thus creating the "lava" effect.
What word describes the verb of lava-lamps?
To blobbler-- to do the thing that the wax in a lava lamp does.
Yes, Tyndale lamps are considered valuable due to their high-quality craftsmanship, timeless design, and collectibility among vintage and antique lamp enthusiasts. The value of a Tyndale lamp can vary based on factors such as its condition, rareness, and specific design features.
Lamps cost 120 each wholesale and sold at 192 at a profit of 6 per lamp How many lamps in shipment?
The profit per lamp is $6, so the selling price is $120 (wholesale cost) + $6 = $126. The profit made on each lamp is $126 - $120 = $6. To find out how many lamps are in the shipment, divide the total profit by the profit per lamp: $192 (selling price) - $120 (wholesale cost) = $72 total profit. Therefore, $72 (total profit) ÷ $6 (profit per lamp) = 12 lamps in the shipment.
Where can antler lamps be bought from?
A deer antler chandelier is a unique lighting fixture. Some specialty lighting stores may sell this item, but one is more likely to find them at a furniture store or even a sporting goods store.
How do you make a genie come out of a lamp?
ingredinets:
big cardboard box
jam jars
cork
bottle
how to make:
1.paint the cardboard a colourful colour nothing too dull
2.you get your jar and put it in the middle of the cardbaord
Singapore-born inventor Craven Walker was having a pint in post W.W.II England. The pub's decor included a fascinating lamp, which Craven Walker described as a "contraption made out of a cocktail shaker, old tins and things." It was to become the starting point and inspiration for Craven Walker's design.
The liquid-filled inventor proceeded to purchase the equally liquid-filled lamp, whose creator (Mr. Dunnett) Walker later discovered had died. Walker became determined to make a better version of the novelty item and spent the next decade and a half doing so (inbetween running an international house-swap agency and making films about nudism.) Walker worked on improving the lamp with his company the Crestworth Company of Dorset, England.
Initially local retail merchants thought his lamps were ugly and disgusting. Luckily, for Craven Walker the "Psychedelic Movement" and the "Love Generation" came to dominate 60's merchandising in Great Britain and sales of the lava lamp soared. It was the perfect light for modern times, Walker declared. "If you buy my lamp, you won't need to buy drugs."
Craven Walker perfected a secret Lava recipe of oil, wax and other solids. The original model had a large gold base with tiny holes to simulate starlight, and a 52 oz. globe that contained red or white Lava and yellow or blue liquid. He marketed the lamp in Europe under the name of Astro Lamp. Two American entrepreneurs saw the lava lamp displayed at a German trade show and bought the rights to manufacture the lava lamp in North America under the name Lava Lite lamp.
Before selling his company, sales of the lamps had exceeded seven million units. Today with over 400,000 lava lamps made each year, the Lava Lamp is enjoying a comeback. Craven Walker's originally company, the Crestworth Company, changed names to Mathmos in 1995 (a reference to the bubbling force in Barbarella.) They still manufacture the Astro, Astro Baby, and more Lava Lamps in their original home of Poole, Dorset, UK.
