Lava lamps powerpoint

Lava Lamps

By: Maggie Browning

History

Lava lamps were invented by Edward Craven Walker in 1963. An ad for lava lamps in 1977

Basics

A lava lamp basically consists of an oily wax and water.

The wax is only slightly denser than the water; therefore it sinks when the lamp is cool.

When the lamp is heated, the wax expands and floats.

Chemistry

The waxy substance and the water are incredibly close in their densities.

However, the wax is slightly denser. The fact that they are so close means that they are

immiscible compounds

Chemistry (cont.)

The light bulb heats the lamp up.

When the lamp is heated, the dense wax expands and becomes less dense than the water it is in.

Because it is no longer the densest, it rises to the top of the glass section.

When the wax is not directly exposed to the heat it cools, contracts, and sinks back to the bottom.

Paraffin

The substance used in the lamp is paraffin.

Paraffin is a wax-like hydrocarbon.

The wax is not like beeswax which is an ester.

The hydrocarbon used here is likely to have twenty to thirty carbons in the molecule. Bees wax

Paraffin

Variations

There are a few variations of the lava lamp which include a colloid suspension.

This kind of lamp uses heat the same way, to move the liquid throughout the cylinder.

Having the colloid gives the lamp “a swirling pearlescent effect” There are also glitter lava lamps, that use glitter instead of “lava”

Works Cited

Chemical Information on Lava Lamps. Contributing Writer, 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. <http://www.soyouwanna.com/chemical-information-lava-lamps-1111.html>.

"Everyday Chemistry-Lava Lamp." The Human Touch of Chemistry. WATConsult, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. <http://humantouchofchemistry.com/lava-lamp.htm>.

McClure, Mike. "Lava Lite: A Chemical Juggling Act." Chem Matters Apr. 1997: 4-7. Print.