What Is Inside A Lava Lamp?

Home » Gadgets » Lava Lamps » What Is Inside A Lava Lamp?

Lava lamps have been a familiar fixture in college dorm rooms and teenager’s bedrooms all over the world since their first appearance in the 1960s. The lava lamps have become completely entrenched in popular culture, not only in the United States but also in many other countries. Even after all these years, people are still buying lava lamps, in hundreds of variations of the basic design.

Lava lamps are fairly simple devices and are based on very basic scientific principles. Lava lamps consist of only a few simple components. A lava lamp must have a compound that makes up the floating lava, a compound that the lava floats in, and a lamp that illuminates the display and provides the necessary heat to move the lava.

To create the floating lava, the two compounds in a lava lamp cannot mix, liquid A can’t dissolve in liquid B. You must see two separate liquids, with one floating on top of or within the other. In order to get a liquid that will float around, you will need two substances that are very similar in density. Then you will need to be able to change the density of one of the compounds so that at times it will be lighter than the other compound in order for it to float to the top, and it will need to be heavier at times in order for it to float to the bottom. By having compounds that have similar densities, the compounds can easily switch between rising and sinking.



Next Page: What Happens To A Lava Lamp When You Turn On The Heat?

Related Lava Lamps Articles