In this lab I decided to recreate a retro lava lamp. This was inspired by Andrew's lava lamp in his class and I researched how to make one. It is actually more complicated and difficult than it seems because there are so many different components or tips that associate with the movement of the lava lamp.
Firstly, the inside of a lava lamp is created with benzyl alcohol and salt water. The coloring of the lava lamp (as seen below) is made from the ink of a neon pink sharpie. The fear was that the ink might bleed into the salt water, but thankfully that did not occur.
Firstly, the inside of a lava lamp is created with benzyl alcohol and salt water. The coloring of the lava lamp (as seen below) is made from the ink of a neon pink sharpie. The fear was that the ink might bleed into the salt water, but thankfully that did not occur.
Looking back:
This lab actually worked much better than I had thought it would. I actually was very set on the idea of the sharpie bleeding into the salt water and having to re-do the whole thing. Luckily, this did not happen and the neon pink sharpie looked so much better than I had anticipated. The color did dilute over time, but I think this made it cooler because the salt water also wasn't as pink (it turned pink due to the reflection of color; it wasn't actually pink) so there was more of a contrast between the alcohol and the water. Andrew and I experimented a lot by adding coils of wire in the bottom to prevent all of the alcohol popping up, wrapping foil around the bottom to create more heat, and we were contemplating whether or not to add a penny on the penny to concentrate the heat to one point.
Looking beyond:
In this lab, the main reaction is convection. Due to the two liquids being very close in density they're movements fluctuate because they are trying to "fight" for the lesser density. The light heats up the heavier liquid (the benzyl alcohol) and it expands. The expansion of the liquid makes it lighter than the salt water so it rises. Then as it gets farther away from the light it cools down and sink back to the bottom. This repeats whenever the alcohol gets hot enough.
Looking inward:
I think I got desirable results. It looks really good and I can say that the lava lamp does work successfully. Of course there is always room for improvement such as adding the penny or black paint on one point for maximum heat in the center. I am planning to do this, along with creating a stand for it as well. I think that I performed well with this activity by doing every step well and being open to possible failure. I was also able to experiment with different salt levels and the overall lava lamp.
Looking outward:
I worked on this by myself with a lot of help from Andrew. It wasn't that I needed much help, but Andrew had great ideas and was also really excited about the overall lab. He was really beneficial to creating the perfect combination of salt water and alcohol and all of the little tips to create the best lava lamp we could.
Looking forward:
I would definitely make another lava lamp with different colors and try to experiment with adding color to the salt water to have two different colors. I would also try to not make the lava lamp so tall and thin so it can move better and not get stuck to the sides as easily.
Take aways:
I now know how to create a lava lamp from scratch and I also think I have done better at experimenting in order to get the best result. Overall, I am really excited with the whole lab and I think I took a lot away from this lab.
This lab actually worked much better than I had thought it would. I actually was very set on the idea of the sharpie bleeding into the salt water and having to re-do the whole thing. Luckily, this did not happen and the neon pink sharpie looked so much better than I had anticipated. The color did dilute over time, but I think this made it cooler because the salt water also wasn't as pink (it turned pink due to the reflection of color; it wasn't actually pink) so there was more of a contrast between the alcohol and the water. Andrew and I experimented a lot by adding coils of wire in the bottom to prevent all of the alcohol popping up, wrapping foil around the bottom to create more heat, and we were contemplating whether or not to add a penny on the penny to concentrate the heat to one point.
Looking beyond:
In this lab, the main reaction is convection. Due to the two liquids being very close in density they're movements fluctuate because they are trying to "fight" for the lesser density. The light heats up the heavier liquid (the benzyl alcohol) and it expands. The expansion of the liquid makes it lighter than the salt water so it rises. Then as it gets farther away from the light it cools down and sink back to the bottom. This repeats whenever the alcohol gets hot enough.
Looking inward:
I think I got desirable results. It looks really good and I can say that the lava lamp does work successfully. Of course there is always room for improvement such as adding the penny or black paint on one point for maximum heat in the center. I am planning to do this, along with creating a stand for it as well. I think that I performed well with this activity by doing every step well and being open to possible failure. I was also able to experiment with different salt levels and the overall lava lamp.
Looking outward:
I worked on this by myself with a lot of help from Andrew. It wasn't that I needed much help, but Andrew had great ideas and was also really excited about the overall lab. He was really beneficial to creating the perfect combination of salt water and alcohol and all of the little tips to create the best lava lamp we could.
Looking forward:
I would definitely make another lava lamp with different colors and try to experiment with adding color to the salt water to have two different colors. I would also try to not make the lava lamp so tall and thin so it can move better and not get stuck to the sides as easily.
Take aways:
I now know how to create a lava lamp from scratch and I also think I have done better at experimenting in order to get the best result. Overall, I am really excited with the whole lab and I think I took a lot away from this lab.