Flashback to the 60s with bell bottom jeans, kitten shoes, and mini skirts, and oh yes how can we forget the lava lamp. This was the lamp that burped and spewed an array of colorful blobs. This year the original lava lamps celebrate 40 years.
Lava lamps are far from dead. Just take a look around and you'll see all the fabulous styles and designs that are now available. We've come a long way from the original few lamps. It's apparent that pop culture lives on.
The original Lava lamps were the brain child of Edward Walker who came up with the basic design in the 1950s. His motion lamp was called the Astro light which was eventually launched in 1963 by Cresworth a UK company. In 1965 a US company called Lave Manufacturing Corp purchased the lamp and that's when it took off. Today that same company operates as Lava World International and it continues to produce almost all of the lava lamps on the market.
New lava lamp products to hit the shelves recently include:
1. Lava Write On - This art nouveau style message board lets you write your message under the glow of neon.
2. The Lighted Series - End Ups - Perfect to keep you occupied when boredoms about to set in. This is a mini lamp with three colors once you flip it.
3. Lava Glitter Night Light - This isn't for the child in your home but instead for the adult. Watch this lamp sparkle and glow through the night. Captivating!
4. Auto Lava Light - Here's the trendiest car accessory on the market. It plugs into your lighter and then just double side sticky tape the lamp to your dash. Now what could be cooler than a traveling lava lamp?
5. Lava USB Light - Another mini lava lamp that's designed for your computer. Just plug it in your USB port and watch it glitter into the wee hours of the night.
6. Lava Firefly - If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to watch thousands of fireflies flutter this lamp will answer your questions. It doesn't get any cooler than this!
So how do they work? They technology is actually quite simple with only a few components which include the floating blobs, the compound that the blobs float in, and the lamp which illuminates the blobs.
The two liquids found in the lamp don't mix so they remain separated from each other. Oil and water are common immiscible and mutually insoluble compounds that are used. The old oil lamps use to use mercury.
What's so cool about the lamps is the way the blobs rise and fall and the ability to change the density by the amount of heat. The density of the compounds can be changed by changing the temperature.
When the lamps shut off have a look at the inside of the lamp. You'll see a solid waxy compound sitting on the bottom of the globe. When you turn the light on the solid very quickly becomes liquid and expands making it less dense than the liquid around it so it rises to the top.
But as it gets farther away from the heat which is at the base it cools and become denser than the liquid around it so it begins to sink. This pattern repeats itself over and over with the blobs ever changing shapes.
If you're feeling like take a trip back in time or just love the trendyness of these lamps, lava lamps are the perfect décor accessory for most any room. Why not lighten up and have a little fun with your lighting?
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