so, you may be asking, why is this relevant? Well I'll tell you. Lava lamps are awesome, in a nutshell they're cooler versions of lamps.

blue lava lamp

What a lava lamp is actually made up of is a trade secret, but in 1970 they released a short list of ingredients including:
Paraffin wax: a flammable, whitish, translucent, waxy solid consisting of a mixture of saturated hydrocarbons, obtained by distillation from petroleum or shale and used in candles, cosmetics, polishes, and sealing and waterproofing compounds. It's part of the wax mixture in the lava lamps.

paraffin wax

 

Water: H2O Its part of the liquid mixture that the wax floats around in

Mineral oil: another part of the liquid mixture

and carbon tetrachloride (and they stopped using this because it was toxic) it was the third part of the liquid mixture used in the lamp

 

 

 

So, how does a lava lamp work?

Basically, the liquid mixture and wax at the bottom is heated by a light bulb. As the wax heats it rises to the top and as it cools it goes back down in a continued cycle and the color is simply just to make the wax blobs look pretty as they move aimlessly in the liquid.

 

 

Alright, now you know a little about how lava lamps work, I'll give you instructions on how to make one at home.

materials:

 

-1 plastic bottle (with a cap)

-vegetable oil

-1 Alka-Seltzer tablet for a 16 oz bottle or 2 tablets for per liter bottle

-food coloring

-(and you guessed it) water

 

Directions:

 

1. Gather materials over a surface that cannot be damaged by oil or can be wiped clean. Another good option is to cover a table with old newspapers.
2. Fill the plastic bottle ¾ full with vegetable oil.
3. Add water to the neck of the bottle, leaving a little space between the water line and the top of the container. (You can always add more water at a later time.)
4. Decide on a color for your ‘lava lamp’ bottle. Select the food coloring accordingly.
5. Add 10 or more drops of food coloring to the bottle until a rich color is seen.
6. Break the Alka-Seltzer tablet into smaller pieces (6 to 8). Add one piece at a time observing each reaction.
7. When the bubbling stops replace the bottle cap.
8. Tip the bottle back and forth and observe the reaction. Tip, twist, and shake the bottle in different directions.

For more information go to: http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/make-your-own-lava-lamp/