How many times have you let yourself be hypnotized by a lava lamp? You held it in your hands, barely moved, and stopped to watch the liquid move and separate, giving life to different shapes and colors. Right after that you looked at the price tag, and put it back in its place. Give your wallet a gift and make your own lava lamp from homemade ingredients by following the instructions in this guide.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Temporary Lava Lamp
Step 1. Rinse a plastic bottle
Any airtight, sealable container will do, but you will most likely have an empty plastic bottle lying somewhere in the house. Try to find one that has at least 500 milliliters in it so you can clearly see what's going on inside.
This method is suitable for children and is much faster and easier than that used to make a permanent lava lamp. Very young children may ask an adult to pour liquids for them
Step 2. Pour oil, water, and food coloring into the bottle
Fill it 3/4 of its capacity with vegetable oil, add 10 drops of food coloring and then top up with water.
Step 3. Add salt or a bar of Alka-Seltzer to the water
If you use a salt grinder, turn it for about five seconds. For a more exciting and sparkling lamp, take an Alka-Seltzer tablet instead, break it into small pieces and throw them into the bottle.
Any other "effervescent" tablet will do. You can find them in pharmacies
Step 4. Cap the bottle and turn it upside down several times (optional)
This will create larger lava bubbles within the oil.
Add more salt or another fizzy tablet when the bubbles start to move
Step 5. Put a powerful flashlight under the bottle
This will light up the bubbles and create a better effect. But don't leave the bottle on the hot surface of the light! The plastic would melt and the oil would end up all over the place.
Step 6. Try to understand what is happening
Oil and water don't mix into one fluid and this creates those liquid bubbles that you see moving around in the bottle. Adding the final ingredient is what starts the process. Here because:
- The salt goes down to the bottom of the bottle, dragging oil with it. When the salt dissolves in the water, the oil comes back to the surface.
- The effervescent tablet reacts with water and creates tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. These bubbles bind to the colored water spheres and drag them to the surface. When the bubbles burst, the colored spheres sink back.
Method 2 of 2: Permanent Lava Lamp
Step 1. Only build this lamp with adult supervision
The alcohol and oil used in this lamp are flammable, and must be handled with care when heating them to get the lava moving. Children should show these instructions to an adult and ask for help, and not follow them alone.
Commercial lava lamps use a patented combination of melted waxes. The homemade version does not allow you to reproduce the same effect, but after a few changes, your "lava" should move in a similar way
Step 2. Get a glass container
You can use any clear glass container that you can seal and shake. Glass resists heat better than plastic, which makes it a great choice for a lava lamp.
Step 3. Pour a scoop of mineral oil or baby oil into the container
This will be the "lava" that will move in the lamp. It doesn't matter the amount, because you can always pour in more later.
Starting with regular oil is a good idea for your first try, but you can use colored oils if you want a colored "lava". Be careful: the paint may separate later and collect at the bottom of the lamp
Step 4. Make a 70% alcohol and 90% alcohol solution
You can find these alcohols at the pharmacy. When combined in the right quantities, the liquid will have almost the same density as mineral oil. Here's how to get the desired density:
- Mix together 6 parts of 90% alcohol with 13 parts of 70% alcohol. (You can estimate these quantities by filling one measuring cup with 90% alcohol, two with 70% alcohol and adding a few more drops of 70% alcohol)
- Pour the solution into the glass container and wait for the liquid to settle. The oil should go to the bottom, but have a slight swelling in the center. If the oil is flat, you can add a little more 70% alcohol, but the solution does not need to be perfect at this stage.
Step 5. Place the container on a sturdy, hollow object
Close the container tightly with the cap before moving it. Place it on a stable, heat-resistant surface, such as a large inverted flowerpot. It should have enough space under it to cover a small lamp.
Step 6. Add a heat source
When the oil and alcohol are nearly the same density, just add some heat under the lamp. The heat causes the materials to expand, and the oil will expand slightly faster than the alcohol surrounding it. When this happens, the oil will float to the surface, cooling and reducing its volume, and then sink again. Let's begin:
- Choose an incandescent light bulb carefully. For a 350ml or smaller container, use a 15-watt sewing machine light bulb. For larger containers you can use a 30 or 40 watt bulb, but never a more powerful one, to avoid the risk of overheating or breaking the glass.
- Place this bulb in a small directional lamp pointed upward under the container.
- For maximum control of light and heat, install a regulator on the lamp.
Step 7. Give the lamp time to warm up
Some lava lamps take a few hours to heat up to the point where the liquid inside them starts moving, but this homemade oil version usually doesn't take that long. Wrap your hand in a cloth and touch the container every 15 minutes. It should be quite hot, but not burning. If it is too hot, turn off the lamp immediately and replace the bulb with a less powerful one.
- Try rotating the lamp gently from time to time while it is heating up, using a cloth or pot holder to touch it.
- Do not leave the lamp on if you leave the room, and turn it off to cool it after a couple of hours of use at the most.
Step 8. Correct the defects if necessary
If the oil is still sitting on the bottom after a couple of hours, turn off the lamp and let it cool completely before changing it. When it reaches room temperature, carefully unscrew the cap and try one of the following changes:
- Add a few tablespoons of salt water to increase the density of the alcohol solution.
- Shake the lava lamp "gently" to separate the oil into smaller spheres. Don't overdo it, or you'll end up with mud and not lava.
- If the oil has separated into tiny bubbles, add a tablespoon of turpentine or another solvent. These are dangerous chemicals, so do not use them if the lamp is within reach of children or pets.
Advice
You can also add decorations such as glitter, sequins or beads
Warnings
- Do not drink the contents of the lamp.
- Don't heat the bottle like a normal lava lamp and don't heat it too much, especially if you're using plastic. Hot oil in a plastic bottle is dangerous.
