Building your lava lamp: how to make the life easier?

[João Roberto Gabbardo]

The easiest way of get your lava lamp is go to the mall and purchase it. But to the person that loves the ‘Do It Yourself’ way of life (like me) it is not the goal! So after make some searching I found several recipes on the web and the better is the one using perc/wax to the ooze and brine to the clear liquid. At first even knowing that the densities of the substances was right and also one can adjust them by simply mixing them with care I was skeptic if the recipe really works and after see a video at you tube – yes, you will say that are lots of fakes there – I became convinced that the recipe really works. The video shows some students using the recipe a very interesting chemical experience and also tells that only after a week making experiments they found the best relationship between the densities of the ooze/brine. It seems realistic, isn’t it? To someone that want see the video look that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qha2dOt1s_8

Well, the big problem behind this recipe is get the right balance between the densities of both substances and besides the suggestions so how to make the life easy? Having a densimeter! Some people will cry that these devices are very expensive – in fact the author of the recipe posted at oozing goo said that and fearing the people interested to build the lava lamp according the device. Also the way suggested to estimate the ooze density suggested by the author seems clumsy too. But if I say to you that one can build a cheap and very accurate densimeter? Another feature of the device is that it is capable of measure the relative density, meaning that two different fluids can be used at same time. The device was described in a serious brazilian magazine of physics teaching and I translated it to english. If you are interested, please let me know. Also I would like to much that someone can revise the text and make the correction of any english error from me.

By last, the main idea of the topic is collect the ideas, suggestions and previous experiences about how to build a lava lamp.

Kindest regards,

João Roberto Gabbardo

[Edbert]

hi joao.. i know that this thread has been a long time ago, but i'm very interested in making my own cheap densimeter for my experiments.. i think that maybe i could get the exact formula of the ingredients if i know the exact density or gravity of each of the ingredients, so i could apply it for my next lamps to come.. (hopefully)

i'm wondering if it is too complicated to make, for a non-engineering student like me..??

[João Roberto Gabbardo]

Hi Edbert,

Sorry for the delay to answer you. Well, in fact this thread is completely stopped since long time ago! I think the people in the community are not too much interested in this issue. No problems, I’m ever disposed to give information and help anyone interested to build the densimeter. It need only cheap parts cheap and is very easy to build. Please inform one email where you want receive the text with the directions to build the device.

Best regards,

João Roberto Gabbardo

[Edbert]

hi joao..

it's definitely not a late answer..!! lol.. in fact you are replying much faster than i expected, for an old thread like this.. =D

of course..!! you can send me the text to this email: [e-mail]

i am totally excited to build myself one (if it is not too complicated for me of course), because i am having quite a trouble tweaking with the right gravity of each of the ingredients and it just made me end up with 11 times of trials and errors..

so i really am giving a hope for a densimeter..

 

best regards,

edbert

[Tim Gill]

are you sure you have got the right youtube link as the video just shows the good old water and vegatable oil lava lamp mix

[João Roberto Gabbardo]

Hi Edbert,

 

Since I put the text telling about the densimeter in the thread I expected for someone interested to build the device and I was expecting that sooner or later it would happen. Well, later is much better than never! But one advice: since  the densimeter works only comparing the densities of liquids it will be useful to determine the density of the salt brine or even the density of the mix of water and ethylene glycol but not too the ooze!  You need determine the ooze density indirectly using the salt brine or the salt brine. For example, you can make a mix of water and ethylene glycol, put a drop of ooze inside the recipient and add more water or ethylene glycol until the drop doesn’t sink or float. If it stays at the mid height of the mix the densities of both are the same. Measuring the density of the resulting mix you will able to see if it is 1.03 g/cm^3 like described on the text describing the Retro Basic Formula. Of course using the densimeter you can get the mix directly with this value by measuring the density after adding more water or ethylene glycol to the mix and later see if the ooze density is the same of the mix.    

 

Best regards,

 

João Roberto Gabbardo

[João Roberto Gabbardo]

Yes, you are sure! I don’t know how I could make this mistake when I put the message in the board. Probably  I was searching for other recipe and  copied the wrong link. The title of video is

 

How to Make A Real Lava Lamp

 

and the right link is:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAJG8jh2SJA

 

The students added some extra comments since the time I found the video by means of banners at the top of images. For example, now they told the use of an extra solution composed of 60ml of distilled water and 40ml of ethylene glycol during the video. This information was only told by the narrator on the end of the video. Also now they suggest add some bleach and ammonia to the ooze. According them, the ooze color become darker and lighter when heat and cool. Why not test the idea to see if it really works?

 

Best regards,

João Roberto Gabbardo

[Peter Panussi]

Dear João,

if you still follow oozinggoo and read this: Could you be so kind and post your technique here, a short tutorial?

That would provide further interested people reading in the forum with the construction details, without always first having to annoy you to get them.

I'd be very interested in your insights and the whole topic of measuring the liquid density, and what you wrote sounds very promising.

Greetings,
Konrad