How it Works

• Inside a lava lamp, two insoluble liquids are combined. Then when the container is heated up, the heavier liquid absorbs the heat and expands, becoming less dense, thus floating to the top of the container. As it floats, the liquid blob becomes cool and falls back to the bottom. This process repeats over and over until there is no longer a heat source.
  
  

What You'll Need

• To make your own lava lamp, you'll need mineral oil, 90% isopropyl alcohol and 70% isopropyl alcohol, which you can typically find at your local drugstore. You'll also need a long stirring stick, a tall container, a 40-watt light bulb and some kind of hydrophobic solvent (like paint solvent).
  
  Begin by pouring enough mineral oil into the container to almost fill it. Then slowly pour the 90% isopropyl alcohol into your container. As the mineral oil sinks to the bottom, begin to add the 70% isopropyl alcohol, stirring the mixture gently as you pour. Stop stirring when the mixture looks very light, or like it will jump up from the bottom of the container. You can adjust the amount of isopropyl alcohol based on how the lava responds. Situate this mixture over a 40-watt light bulb and let it heat up.
  
  

The Final Product

• There you have it, a home made lava lamp! You can add some finishing touches to it, like decorating the plastic container, changing the color of the lava or making the lava blobs bigger.
  
  To change the color of the lava, you can add drops of food coloring or oil-based dye.
  
  To make the lava blobs bigger (they'll probably be very small, since you have to mix the solution and possibly mix in some color) just add in a small amount of hydrophobic solvent to absorb the oils.