lava lamps
Darryl A DIncans
I have a nice glass lava lamp type piece that I would like to make into
a lava lamp. Does anybody know what exactly is in a lava lamp.
Darryl A DIncans
I have a nice glass lava lamp type piece that I would like to make into
E-mail me at din...@myriad.net
Lori Hultman
In <32648C...@myriad.net> Darryl A DIncans <din...@myriad.net>
writes:
Please don't just email responses. Please post them too. I (and
probably others from the 60's era of those tacky, yet expressive,
decorations) would love to know also! It might have been oil and
colored wax in them, and the heat from the light would melt the wax
which would then float around in the oil. But that's just a wild
guess. For all I know that could also cause some chemical reaction taht
explodes!
Sam Gaylord
Lori Hultman (hul...@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: In <32648C...@myriad.net> Darryl A DIncans <din...@myriad.net>
I'm showing my age, but... The official word back when Lava Lites were
popular was that is was a special wax in a very light oil. Beyond that
I believe it was a proprietary secret of the patent holder.
samg
a.k.a Sam Gaylord (sa...@cs.itc.hp.com)
Hewlett Packard/Colorado Springs
Darryl A DIncans
> Please don't just email responses. Please post them too. I (and
> probably others from the 60's era of those tacky, yet expressive,
> decorations) would love to know also! It might have been oil and
> colored wax in them, and the heat from the light would melt the wax
> which would then float around in the oil. But that's just a wild
> guess. For all I know that could also cause some chemical reaction taht
> explodes!
I found this on the web. I hope including his header is giving enough
credit.
If anyone has tried this, ANY info would be appreciated.
Darryl
From: stor...@sparc.isl.net (Stormoen MD)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Lava Lamp Plans Here.
Date: 13 Jan 1995 08:08:15 GMT
Message-ID: <3f5cdf$j...@news.isl.net>
I've had SEVERAL requests for the plans, so here they are.
Sorry, I guess I lost the name of the guy who gave 'em to me.
(I recieved two versions, and I liked this one best).
WARNING!! This electronic document deals with and involves subject
matter
and the use of materials and substances that may be hazardous to health
and life. Do not attempt to implement or use the information contained
herein unless you are experienced and skilled with respect to such
subject
matter, materials and substances. The author makes no representations
as
for the completeness or the accuracy of the information contained herein
and disclaim any liability for damages or injuries, whether caused by or
arising from the lack of completeness, inaccuracies of the information,
misinterpretation of the directions, misapplication of the information
or
otherwise.
Please note: The information contained in this electronic document can
be found in the 1992 Edition of Popular Electronics Electronics
Hobbyists
handbook, published annually by Gernsback Publications Inc, USA.
Inside a lava lamp are two immiscible fluids. If it is assumed that
fluid 1
is water, then fluid 2 must be:
1) insoluble in water;
2) heavier than water;
3) non-flammable (for safety);
4) non-reactive with water or air;
5) more viscous than water;
6) reasonably priced.
Furthermore, fluid 2 must not be:
1) very poisonous (for safety);
2) chlorinated;
3) emulsifiable in water (for rapid separation).
In addition, fluid 2 must have a greater coefficient of expansion than
water. Check a Perry's handbook of Chemical Engineering, and the above
list eliminates quite a few possibilities.
Here is a list of possible chemicals to use:
1) benzyl alcohol (sp.g. 1.043, bp 204.7 deg. C, sl. soluble);
2) cinnamyl alcohol (sp. g. 1.04, bp 257.5 deg. C, sl. soluble);
3) diethyl phthalate (sp. g. 1.121, bp 298 deg. C, insoluble);
4) ethyl salicylate (sp. g. 113, bp 233 deg. C, insoluble).
If desired, use a suitable red oil-soluble dye to color fluid 2. A
permanent felt-tip pen is a possible source. Break open the pen and put
the felt in a beaker with fluid 2.
It is recommended to use benzyl alcohol as fluid 2. (Caution!! Do not
come into contact with benzyl alcohol either by ingestion, skin, or
inhalation.) In addition to water, the following items will be
necessary:
1) sodium chloride (table salt);
2) a clear glass bottle, about 10 inches (25.4 cm) high;
3) a 40 watt light bulb and ceramic light fixture;
4) a 1 pint (473 ml) tin can or larger;
5) plywood;
6) 1/4 inch (0.635 cm) thick foam-rubber;
7) AC plug with 16 gauge lamp wire;
8) hardware;
9) light dimmer (optional);
10) small fan (optional).
The performance of the lava lamp will depend on the quality of the water
used. A few experiments must be conducted to determine how much sodium
chloride is necessary to increase the water's specific gravity. Try a
5%
salt concentration first (50 g of salt to 1 liter of water). Pour the
red-dyed benzyl alcohol mixture in a Pyrex beaker. Add an equal or
greater amount of water and heat slowly on a hot plate. If the benzyl
alcohol floats to the top and stays there, decrease the salt
concentration. If it stays at the bottom, add more salt.
Construct the lamp by fastening the ceramic lamp fixture to a 5 inch
(12.7
cm) diameter piece of plywood. Attach the lamp wire to the fixture.
Screw in the 40 watt bulb. Cut one end off the tin can, remove its
contents, and clean thoroughly. Drill a hole in the tin can for the
wire
to go through. Invert the can over the bulb (open end down) and affix
to
the plywood with epoxy. Cut a round gasket from the foam-rubber and fit
it into the top lip of the can.
Fill the bottle partially with brine, add about 150 ml of benzyl
alcohol,
then fill up the bottle with brine. Leave about 1 inch (2.54 cm) of
airspace on top for expansion. Bubble size will be influenced by amount
of air space. Tightly cap the bottle and place on gasket.
The light dimmer is used to control the amount of heat in the bottle.
It
is helpful if the bottle is too short and the 40 watt bulb makes the
benzyl alcohol accumulate at the top.
The fan can also be used to cool the top of the bottle and help the
benzyl
alcohol to sink to the bottom.
If desired, add a trace of an antioxidant such as BHA or BHT to the
brine
to add color and contrast.
Enjoy and good luck.
Darryl A DIncans
Sorry to keep posting, but EUREKA anyone interested in making their own
lava lamp should look at the page www.geocities.com/SoHo/1346
haven't tried any of these, but they sound reasonable (and cheap)
Darryl
John Kelly
sa...@col.hp.com (Sam Gaylord) writes:
> I'm showing my age, but... The official word back when Lava Lites were
> popular was that is was a special wax in a very light oil. Beyond that
> I believe it was a proprietary secret of the patent holder.
I've always believed this to be true, as well.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jk...@jkay.connix.com | ... heard a singer on the radio, late | Protect
SysOp, Ragtime East | last night; said he's gonna kick the | the
Net-Viking ]:| | darkness, 'till it bleeds daylight ... | Net!
MikeFirth
In article <542r7e$m...@sjx-ixn2.ix.netcom.com>, hul...@ix.netcom.com(Lori
Hultman) writes:
>>I have a nice glass lava lamp type piece that I would like to make
>into
>>a lava lamp. Does anybody know what exactly is in a lava lamp.
>Please
>>E-mail me at din...@myriad.net
>
>Please don't just email responses. Please post them too. I (and
>probably others from the 60's era of those tacky, yet expressive,
>decorations) would love to know also! It might have been oil and
>colored wax in them, and the heat from the light would melt the wax
>which would then float around in the oil. But that's just a wild
>guess. For all I know that could also cause some chemical reaction taht
>explodes!
We sell Lava Lamps at the Hardware store and the basic structure of the
lamp is a high intensity (40 watt) reading lamp and two fluids, one of
which changes density a lot when heated somewhat and the other of which
doesn't change density much at all. The brighter color is in the one that
doesn't change much, while some color is in the other (and some
combinations are obnoxious.) The exact formula is proprietary (a secret!)
because the company wants to keep on making money. Also note that the
density changing fluid has to have low surface tension so it doesn't clump
into spheres, but enough to stay together and its density has to change
from just above to just below the other fluid.
Mike Firth, Hot Bits Glassblowing Newsletter
Home Page: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/MikeFirth
MikeFirth
In article <32648C...@myriad.net>, Darryl A DIncans
<din...@myriad.net> writes:
>I have a nice glass lava lamp type piece that I would like to make into
>a lava lamp. Does anybody know what exactly is in a lava lamp.
>
>
I went off and looked at the site(s) referred to in another reply. In
very brief summary, there are two choices one is:
Contributed by: Jim Webb <jnw...@email.unc.edu>
Method #1.
A new, easy, simple, cheap lava lamp recipe
Use mineral oil as the lava. Use 90% isopropyl alcohol (which most
drugstores can easily order) and 70% isopropyl alcohol (grocery-store
rubbing alcohol) for the other ingredient. In 90% alcohol the mineral oil
will sink to the bottom; slowly add the 70% alcohol (gently mixing all the
while; take your time) until the oil seems lighter and is about to "jump"
off the bottom. Use the two alcohols to adjust
the responsiveness of the "lava."
The other is:
Benzyl alcohol (probably around 150 - 250 ml)
4.8% salt water solution (48 g per liter)
Benzyl alcohol has a specific gravity of 1.043 g/cc and the brine solution
has a s.g. of 1.032 g/cc.
When heated, the benzyl alcohol expands enough to become less dense than
the brine.
WARNING: Benzyl acohol is not incredibly dangerous but should not be
breathed or allowed on the skin, etc.
If you need more details start at: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1346
shannon wagoner
I have something to say to hul...@ix.netcom.com(Lori Hultman) On 16
Oct 1996 14:24:46 GMT because they wrote:
>In <32648C...@myriad.net> Darryl A DIncans <din...@myriad.net>
>writes:
>>
>>I have a nice glass lava lamp type piece that I would like to make
>into
>>a lava lamp. Does anybody know what exactly is in a lava lamp.
>Please
>>E-mail me at din...@myriad.net
>Please don't just email responses. Please post them too. I (and
>probably others from the 60's era of those tacky, yet expressive,
>decorations) would love to know also! It might have been oil and
>colored wax in them, and the heat from the light would melt the wax
>which would then float around in the oil. But that's just a wild
>guess. For all I know that could also cause some chemical reaction taht
>explodes!
it's not oil or wax, lord, that could be dangerous, it usually is
water and (sp?) benzole alcohol with coloring added to one or both and
salt, i had a good article, not sure where it is right now, but it
gave several alternatives of liquids to use.
shannon wagoner
I have something to say to sa...@col.hp.com (Sam Gaylord) On 16 Oct
1996 18:44:58 GMT because they wrote:
>I'm showing my age, but... The official word back when Lava Lites were
>popular was that is was a special wax in a very light oil. Beyond that
>I believe it was a proprietary secret of the patent holder.
nope, don't use oil, it could be very dangerous. it is salt, water,
(sp?) benzole alchohol, and coloring, there are several other
combinations, it's all about specific desity and boiling point, ect.
there was a good article in like popular electronics 8 years ago or
so, very informative. ttyl
shannon wagoner
I have something to say to Darryl A DIncans <din...@myriad.net> On
Wed, 16 Oct 1996 21:56:54 -0700 because they wrote:
>Here is a list of possible chemicals to use:
> 1) benzyl alcohol (sp.g. 1.043, bp 204.7 deg. C, sl. soluble);
> 2) cinnamyl alcohol (sp. g. 1.04, bp 257.5 deg. C, sl. soluble);
> 3) diethyl phthalate (sp. g. 1.121, bp 298 deg. C, insoluble);
> 4) ethyl salicylate (sp. g. 113, bp 233 deg. C, insoluble).
ah, some one else had the article i read, great, the only problem i
have had is, no one will carry any of those 4 liquids in my area (i
think they said they could be used in drug production meth. amph. i
think) so i hope you have better luck than i at finding the chemicals,
i have like 20 glass containers ready to go if i ever find they :)
ttyl.
Mark Kemp
I can't find the file at the moment, but the easiest-to-find materials,
and perhaps the safest, are mineral oil and isopropyl alcohol. Use both
70 % isopropyl, and 90%, both of which are available in pharmacies, etc.
I believe you start with the 90%, and add 70% until the mineral oil just
barely floats, or maybe doesn't quite float, i can't remember now. When
the mixture is heated by the bulb at the bottom of the glass vessel, the
mineral oil is warmed and rises to the top, where it cools and drops
again. The oil and/or the alcohol can be dyed with substances that don't
dissolve in the other one.
--
- "There's no security, or peace and tranquillity, except underground. -
- And then, if your ideas get larger and you want to expand--why, a dig -
- and a scrape, and there you are too! If you feel your house is a bit -
- too big, you stop up a hole or two, and there you are again!" -- Mr. B -
MikeFirth
Here are some notes collected in a Web wander a while back:
Here is a list of possible chemicals to use:
1) benzyl alcohol (sp.g. 1.043, bp 204.7 deg. C, sl. soluble);
2) cinnamyl alcohol (sp. g. 1.04, bp 257.5 deg. C, sl. soluble);
3) diethyl phthalate (sp. g. 1.121, bp 298 deg. C, insoluble);
4) ethyl salicylate (sp. g. 113, bp 233 deg. C, insoluble).
If desired, use a suitable red oil-soluble dye to color fluid 2. A
Enjoy and good luck.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAVA LAMP MATERIALS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From TAP-L Listserv, 7/95
>Does anyone know what is in a lava lamp? Does anyone know how to make
>those wave things that I always see (some blue fluid and yellow or clear
>fluid between two sheets of plexi.)?
Regarding Lava Lamps... The stuff inside is (I believe) a trade secret -
imagine that. A pretty good
substitute can be found in this:
Benzyl alcohol (probably around 150 - 250 ml)
4.8% salt water solution (48 g per liter)
Benzyl alcohol has a specific gravity of 1.043 g/cc and the brine solution
has a s.g. of 1.032 g/cc.
When heated, the benzyl alcohol expands enough to become less dense than
the brine. Once it
cools off, it becomes heavier (denser) and it falls. The cycle hopefully
repeats. I've built several of
these with students, using a 40 - 60 W light bulb as a heat source. The
bulb is in a fixture in a can
(small coffee can or such) close to the bottom of the vessel for the
mixture. To get the color, find
an
oil-soluble marker (Magic Marker?) and break it open. Carefully remove
the felt ink-soaked thing
(technical talk; sorry) and place it in a small bowl with the benzyl
alcohol. The longer you leave it
in, the darker it will become. A couple of minutes should do the trick.
The darker it is, however,
the more it will tend to bleed into the brine solution. I've heard from
my students that Sharpies
bleed too much, so you may want to avoid them as an ink source.
Also, benzyl alcohol is a bit expensive: about $40 per liter (enough for
6-7 lava lamps). Other
liquids work too, but may be more dangerous or costly:
cinnamyl alcohol
diethyl phthalate
ethyl salicylate
nitrobenzine
Experimentation is the key here. Oh, these do work very well if you have
a good container. I've not
had a chance to try this mixture in an old Lava Lite assembly, though I
can't imagine why it
wouldn't work well.
By the way, more detailed ideas on this can be found in an article called
"Build a Lava Lamp," in a
back issue of Popular Electronics (March of 1992? 93? I'm not sure) by
Ralph Hubscher. It
describes pretty much what I just have, but with better graphics and
grammar:-)
As for the wave tank, here's a sure fire technique: baby oil and water,
and food coloring. Find a
good bottle and an old VW wiper motor (JerryCo {American Science and
Surplus} or JC Whitney)
for your own wave machine.
Hope this helps. Sorry for the delay in responding but I've just moved
recently and only now have
gotten around to checking my e-mail. Yeesh, where are my priorities? 175
messages!!!
Bye now,
Sean
sla...@sewickley-acad.pvt.k12.pa.us
Reply to: ta...@listserv.appstate.edu
Date: Jul 10, 1995
*********************************************************************
Some Lava Lamp theorizing: The "lava" smells like gasoline. It seems
unsafe, but could it be a
mixture of paraffin wax thinned by gasoline? By itself this wouldn't sink
in water, but by varying
the amounts it might be possible to adjust the viscosity and melting
point. The mixture might not
be very flammable if only a small amount of gasoline is needed. Use
extreme care if you
experiment with flammable materials!
Another clue: after a few years a LavaLamp fails because the 'lava'
separates into two masses, one
which floats and one which sinks. This suggests that one ingredient may
be a finely powdered
solid. Over time this solid settles to the bottom of the 'lava', and
eventually part of the 'lava'
becomes too light to sink. The powder would need to be very fine, and
should be dense enough to
sink the lava, but not so dense that it settles within the 'lava'
quickly. Could it be something as
simple as talc?
- Bill Beaty
31.2 How does a Lava Lamp work?
Contributed by: Jim Webb <jnw...@email.unc.edu>
A container filled with clear or dyed liquid contains a non-water-soluble
substance (the "lava")
that's just a little bit denser (heavier), and has a greater thermal
coefficient of expansion, than the
liquid around it. Thus, it settles to the bottom of the container. A heat
source at the bottom of the
container warms the substance, making it expand and become less dense than
the liquid around it.
Thus, it rises. As it moves away from the heat source, it cools, contracts
a bit, and becomes (once
again) heavier than the medium. Thus, it falls. Heavy, light, heavy,
light. Sounds like a Milan
Kundera novel. (Actually, to be more precise: dense, less dense, dense,
less dense.)
31.3 How do I make a Lava Lamp?
Contributed by: Jim Webb <jnw...@email.unc.edu>
Method #1.
A new, easy, simple, cheap lava lamp recipe
Use mineral oil as the lava. Use 90% isopropyl alcohol (which most
drugstores can easily order)
and 70% isopropyl alcohol (grocery-store rubbing alcohol) for the other
ingredient. In 90% alcohol
the mineral oil will sink to the bottom; slowly add the 70% alcohol
(gently mixing all the while;
take your time) until the oil seems lighter and is about to "jump" off the
bottom. Use the two
alcohols to adjust the responsiveness of the "lava."
This mixture is placed in a closed container (the "lava lamp shape" is not
required, although
something fairly tall is good) and situated over a 40-watt bulb. If the
"lava" tends to collect at the
top, try putting a dimmer on the bulb, or a fan at the top of the
container.
To dye the lava, use an oil-based dye like artists' oil paints or a
chopped-up sharpie marker. To dye
the liquid around it, use food coloring.
Two suggestions for better performance: 1) Agitation will tend to make the
mineral oil form small
bubbles unlike the large blobs we're all used to. The addition of a
hydrophobic solvent to the
mixture will help the lava coalesce. Turpentine and other paint solvents
work well. To make sure
what you use is hydrophobic, put some on your hand (if it's so toxic you
can't put it on your hand, do
you want to put it in a container that could break all over your
room/desk/office?) and run a little
water on it. If the water beads, it should work fine. 2) For faster
warm-up time, add some antifreeze
or (I've not tried it)
liquid soap. Too much will cloud the alcohol. Keep in mind that the
addition of these chemicals
may necessitate your readjusting the 90% to 70% alcohol mixture.
Method #2.
The official way. (from US Patent # 3,570,156 March 16, 1971)
The patent itself is not very specific as to proportions of ingredients.
The solid component (i.e., the
waxy-looking stuff that bubbles) is said to consist of "a mineral oil such
as Ondina 17 (R.T.M.) with
a light paraffin, carbon tetrachloride, a dye and paraffin wax."
The medium this waxy stuff moves in is roughly 70/30% (by volume) water
and a liquid which will
raise the coefficient of cubic thermal expansion, and generally make the
whole thing work better.
The patent recommends propylene glycol for this; however, glycerol,
ethylene glycol, and
polyethylene glycol (aka PEG) are also mentioned as being sufficient.
This mixture is placed in a closed container (the "lava lamp shape" is not
required, although
something fairly tall is good) and situated over a 40-watt bulb. If the
"lava" tends to collect at the
top, try putting a dimmer on the bulb, or a fan at the top of the
container.
Method #3.
The "less official" way (from Popular Electronics,[3]) How to make a Lava
Lamp, by Ralph
Hubscher, _Popular Electronics_ magazine, March 1991, p. 31 ((4).
Gernsback Publications.)
Several non-water-soluble chemicals fall under the category of being "just
a little bit heavier" than
water, and are still viscous enough to form bubbles, not be terribly
poisonous, and have a great
enough coefficient of expansion. Among them: Benzyl alcohol (Specific
Gravity 1.043 g/cm3),
Cinnamyl Alcohol (SG 1.04), Diethyl phthalate (SG 1.121) and Ethyl
Salicylate (SG 1.13). [The
specific gravity of distilled water is 1.000.]
Hubscher recommends using Benzyl Alcohol, which is used in the manufacture
of perfume and (in
one of its forms) as a food additive. It can be obtained from chemical or
laboratory supply houses
(check your yellow pages); the cheapest I could find it for was $25 for
500 ml (probably 2, maybe 3
regular-sized lava lamps' worth). An oil-soluble dye is nice to color the
"lava"; Hubscher soaked the
benzyl in a chopped up red felt-tip pen and said it worked great. [Benzyl
alcohol is "relatively
harmless", but don't drink it, and avoid touching & breathing it.]
Hubscher found that the benzyl and the water alone didn't do much, so he
raised the specific gravity
of the water a little bit by adding table salt. A 4.8% salt solution (put
48 grams of salt in a container
and fill it up to one liter with water) has a specific gravity of about
1.032, closer to benzyl's 1.043. I
find that the salt tends to cloud the water a bit. You might want to
experiment with other additives.
(Antifreeze? Vinegar? Glycerin?)
This is put into a closed container and placed above a 40-watt bulb, as
above. Either way, I would
suggest using distilled water and consider sterilizing the container by
immersing it in boiling water
for a few minutes.. algae growing in lava lamps is not very hip.
Caveat 1: Some of these chemicals are not good for you.
Caveat 2: Some of these companies are not good for you if they find you've
been infringing on their
patent rights and trying to sell your new line of "magma lights." Be
careful.
Jason Liang (chi...@pacifier.com)
Why don't you try to use benzyl benzoate instead. As an ester it has a lot
less water solubility.
Besides it also has a higher density 1.112 compares to benzyl alcohol's
1.045. Therefore you can put
a bit more salts and may sodium benzoate to kill germs. Just a thought. I
work in a benzylbenzoate
producer. If you do try please let me know your results. Benzyl Benzoate
is not difficult to buy and
it is nontoxic and is even used in gums. If you have trouble to get it,
e-mail me your address I might
be able to send you a samle sample.