The right lava lamps for home

1. The right Lava Lamps for home
If you want a party novelty item that all your friends will find fascinating, you should check into
obtaining a lava lamp.
A lava (or Astro) lamp is a ornamental lamp made of a clear glass vessel that contains liquids that move
in such a way as to suggest the action of lava erupting from a mountain. The inside of the vessel contains
colored wax floating in a clear liquid. This liquid is heated from underneath by a light bulb, which
decreases the density of the wax, causing the wax to break apart and rise. When the wax reaches the
top surface of the liquid, it starts to cool and eventually sinks to the bottom, to start the process over
again.
You can't use pure water in a lava reading lamps, because wax is less dense than water and would float
no matter what the temperature of the water was. So carbon tetrachloride, which is denser than water
and is miscible with wax (meaning that it combines wholly with wax), is added to the water. Just enough
carbon tetrachloride is added to make the wax just denser than water; that way, it won’t take much
heat to cause the wax to rise to the top.
When you heat the liquid, the wax expands more than the water does, which consequently leads to the
wax rising because it becomes less dense the water as it expands. The heat also causes the wax to melt
and break up into pieces as it rises, creating an interesting effect. Because the top part of the liquid is
the farthest away from the heat source, the top is cooler, so after the wax reaches the top it cools and
ultimately falls back to the bottom. The pieces of wax recombine at the bottom because they hit a coil of
wire that acts as a surface tension breaker.
It can every now and then take up to an hour for the wax to warm up enough to start rising. If the lamp
has been stored in a cold room, it can even take two or three hours. Never shake the vessel, or you’ll
mix the wax and water, and the liquid will get cloudy.
When you first try your lava wall lights lamp, you might think it’s a dud because it could take several
hours to heat it. If that happens, lift the heated glass vessel away from the light bulb, using oven gloves
to shield your hands. Set the vessel on a flat, even surface and gently spin it. This should result in the
wax settling on the wire coil. Put the bottle back over the light bulb and try heating it again. If this
doesn't work, take the lava lamp back for a replacement.
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2. If you attempt to make a homemade lava floor lamp, beware of recipes that contain alcohol, as these
can be dangerous and could explode. Most good recipes call for paraffin wax, mineral oil and carbon
tetrachloride. The carbon tetrachloride is non-flammable, so it decreases the danger.
Make sure that you use the exact wattage and variety of bulb prescribed. Normally, the bulb is either a
halogen or an incandescent, between twenty-five and forty watts. Too big of a bulb can prove
hazardous, and too little of a bulb won’t create enough heat to raise the wax.
For more information on Lava Table Lamps
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If you would like to contact us thru:
Phone : 01525 841187
Email : contact@tablelampsuk.com
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