DIY Life

Originally a product of the 60's, these liquid motion lamps are found in dorm rooms everywhere. We used to have one in our living room, now we have it in our office. We love these psychedelic lamps and I imagine we'll have one kicking around forever. My husband claims it helps him concentrate, it usually puts me in a trance, but either way, this novelty lamp is a huge part of our pop culture. Have you ever stared at your lamp, mesmerized and wondered how it works?

The low temperature wax is almost the same density, only slightly heavier than the surrounding liquid. As the lamp heats up the wax expands and rises. When it is at the top it cools and falls. How stuff works has this short video explaining the reason behind motion in the lamps.

Now that you have a bit of an idea about how the wax creates this fascinating flow, I bet you're wondering how you could make one yourself. Kick off the new school year with a science project who's product just happens to be the coolest dorm room accessory. If you know your science, then you might want to try your hand at the these directions taken directly from the Lava Lamp patent. The exact Lava Lamp recipe is still secret, so you'll have to play around a bit with this one. If you're not a chemistry major, looking to turn your room into a lab, then you might want to try some more basic recipes. After the break, I'll tell you about the Poor Man's and Retro-Basic Lava Lamps. I'll outline the ingredients and point you to a source where you can learn exactly how you can make them on your own.