MY DIFFERENT CHEMICAL EXPERIENCES FOR GLITTER LAMP

[Tevfik Dogruman]

Hello everyone,

This week I tried various chemicals for the glitter lamp.

First I searched for safety data sheets for glitter.

Because the safety data sheets contain the density of glitter. From this I can calculate the density of the liquid. The chemicals I will use must be non-hazardous. I used PERC in my previous work. I have now tried four different chemicals.

1- Mono ethylene glycol. d= 1.12 g/cm³

2- Glycerin d= 1.26 g/cm³

3- 50% potassium carbonate solution. d= 1.50 g/cm³

Densities%20of%20Aqueous%20Solutions%20of%20Inorganic%20Potassium%2...

4- Sugar (sucrose) solution (65 - 70%). d= 1.35 g/cm³

Density%20of%20Aqueous%20Solutions%20of%20Organic%20Substances%20as...

5- Calcium Chloride (42%).  d= 1.435 g/cm³

Calcium%20Chloride.pdf

6- Calcium Nitrate solution (45%). d= 1.45 -1.50 g/cm³

MSDS from Calcium Nitrate solution 17212.pdf

7- PERC (banned chemical) For this reason, I try the above alternatives.

Density of glitter = 1.4 g/cm³

GLI0137%20Glitter%20F.pdf

When I used mono ethylene glycol and glycerin, the glitters remained at the bottom. He didn't move.

When I used 50% potassium carbonate solution, the glitters stayed on top. He didn't move.

The solution was too alkaline (pH=12), the substance that gave shine to the glitters disappeared.

BEFORE

AFTER

There is only one sugar left. It's okay, it moves very slowly. But safe, but not used as a glitter jam.

Video

https://youtu.be/loGlrpKASX0

[Tevfik Dogruman]

I think the cloudiness is due to the dissolving metal part of the glitter. Or calcium chloride is not pure enough.
It works pretty well. Maybe I'll add a colored light bulb or dye.

Arne said:

is the cloudyness the shine thats now in the CC?

[Tevfik Dogruman]

As a result

 

My glitter lamp work continues. I used various substances. Perchlorethylene, Sucrose, potassium carbonate, calcium chloride and calcium nitrate.

 

What I did about a year ago with Perchlorethylene (PERC) works perfectly. But finding this substance is a problem in some countries. That's why I won't talk about it.

 

Potassium carbonate was very corrosive, so it damaged the glitters. Too much alkaline solution. That's why I gave up.

 

Calcium chloride was so beautiful at first, it damaged the glitters the next day. If the temperature of your home drops below 18 degrees Celsius, the solution crystallizes.

 

What I did with sucrose is nice, but it works very slowly due to its viscosity. It gradually crystallized after a few weeks. Just like jam.

 

What I did with calcium nitrate works fine for now. Calcium nitrate is more harmless and is widely used as a fertilizer.

 

Here, from the left, there is a glitter lamp containing calcium nitrate, a glitter lamp containing calcium chloride, and a glitter lamp containing sucrose.

 

12 volt 20 watt bulbs were used in all glitter lamps.

https://youtu.be/XFlMTXd1SmE

[Tevfik Dogruman]

What I did with sucrose is nice, but it works very slowly due to its viscosity. It gradually crystallized after a few weeks. Just like jam.

[Patrick Bykonen]

so, calcium nitrate is the best option for normal flowing glitter lamp without it eating up the (Walmart)Glitter and what's the ratio trying to re-furbish one of our old glitter lamps where the fluid was very cloudy and could not save the glitter cause of all the white stuff with the glitter

[Tevfik Dogruman]

The density of the glitter is usually 1,4 g/ml.
I am preparing a 60% calcium nitrate tetra hydrate solution. Approximately 533 ml of this solution is 800 grams. Its density is approximately 1,5g/ml. I prepare almost calcium nitrate tetra hydrate : water ratio as 3,5 :1. Its density is 1,388 g/ml . It's working fine for now. I'm still in the testing phase.

Patrick Bykonen said:

so, calcium nitrate is the best option for normal flowing glitter lamp without it eating up the (Walmart)Glitter and what's the ratio trying to re-furbish one of our old glitter lamps where the fluid was very cloudy and could not save the glitter cause of all the white stuff with the glitter

[Adrian]

Hello, do you use any surfactant in the Calcium Nitrate glitter bottles, what kind and how much? I have SLES and soon Triton X-100 on hand. Thanks.

[Tevfik Dogruman]

Hi Adrian, yes I am using surfactant. That way the glitters don't stick to each other. I used SLES before. It precipitated in the highly concentrated nitrate solution. SLES is an anionic surfactant.
I also used NP10 (Nonyl Phenol Ethoxylate). I add 1 ml per liter of 10% solution. I didn't have any problems. NP10 is also a nonionic surfactant like Triton X100.

Adrian said:

Hello, do you use any surfactant in the Calcium Nitrate glitter bottles, what kind and how much? I have SLES and soon Triton X-100 on hand. Thanks.