What Is In A Lava Lamp? – Getting Reliable Answers
Whatever your age is, a lava lamp can take your attention. From its bubbling lava-like liquid that dances inside the glass bottle and not to mention the calming mood that it gives, surely, it’s one of a kind! But have you ever wondered what is in a lava lamp? In this article, we will supply you the information about your favorite lava lamp.
The Composition
If you are to profess, we bet every time you see a lava lamp you can’t help but wonder what is in a lava lamp, right? Of course, who wouldn’t be interested on how it works and what is inside of it. Consider this as your lucky day because you know you have the chance to know the secret behind the composition of your lava lamp. Below is the list of ingredients that makes up the lava lamp:
- Paraffin Wax
- Water
- Colored dye
- Carbon tetrachloride
- Mineral oil
- Chemicals
Steps in Making a Lava Lamp
How to make a lava lamp? You must be excited to make your own. That is why here is the lava lamp making procedure that you can try at home with your family and friends. This too is a perfect activity in teaching density to your students at school. So let’s start making this!
What you need:
The ingredients of this lava lamp are simpler than those real ones. In fact, you can see them in your kitchen except for one ingredient.
- Food dye
- Vegetable oil
- Clear glass container
- Water
- Alka-Seltzer
- If you don’t have an Alka-Seltzer, you can use (1) tsp. of citric acid and (2) tsp. of baking soda.
What to do:
- Fill your glass container with mostly vegetable oil, but leave at least ¼ space for other ingredients.
- Add water.
- Add a few drops of food dye.
- With the reactive ingredient in, see how it works!
How come the Liquids Don’t Mix?
The big question that lingers in the mind of us adults and especially the kids is how a lava lamp works. It makes us curious why the components don’t mix even when you shake them together. Well, the science behind this trick is the density of the substances. The wax is lighter than the water, and the water is heavier than the wax, which is why they don’t mix together. They only react when you turn on the lamp. When you turn on the lamp, it heats up. The heat then influences the wax to expand and drop to the bottom.
Conclusion
Most of the time, our curiosity is what makes us understand things better like the lava lamp. With many times of watching how it works, we often wonder what is in a lava lamp. This sparks our idea to investigate and try new things to pacify our curiosity. Now that you know what’s in a lava lamp, you, too, can share this information with your loved ones to keep them informed! You can now plan to make your own with your friends or students and see how amazed they can be!