Based on the method described in the provided reference for a homemade lava lamp, the substance that mimics "lava" is essentially colored water.
In this specific homemade setup, the visual effect of moving lava blobs is created by combining water with food coloring, vegetable oil, and baking soda. The key is adding food coloring to the water before introducing it to the other ingredients.
Here's a breakdown based on the referenced method:
Ingredients Mentioned in the Reference
The reference highlights several key components for creating this homemade lava lamp effect:
- Water: The base liquid that gets colored.
- Food Coloring: Used to give the water its vibrant "lava" appearance (e.g., green, as mentioned in the reference: "I like green so I'm going to put some. Green. In").
- Vegetable Oil: An immiscible liquid layer through which the colored water moves.
- Baking Soda: Included in the jar with the oil, it interacts with the water to create gas.
Creating the "Lava" Material
According to the reference snippet, making the "lava" material involves a simple step:
- Take water: Start with a quantity of water.
- Add Food Coloring: "add a food coloring of your choice". The reference specifically mentions adding green food coloring into a liquid, which is then combined with the oil and baking soda. This colors the water, making it visible as it moves through the oil.
How the "Lava" Effect Works
Once the colored water is prepared and added to the jar containing vegetable oil and baking soda, the "lava" effect occurs due to a few principles:
- Density Difference: Water is denser than vegetable oil, so it naturally sinks to the bottom.
- Chemical Reaction: When the colored water comes into contact with the baking soda, it triggers a reaction (like a typical acid-base reaction if a mild acid or an acidic substance is present, or just the release of dissolved gas).
- Gas Production: This reaction produces gas bubbles (often carbon dioxide).
- Movement: These gas bubbles attach to the colored water droplets. The gas makes the water droplets less dense than the surrounding oil, causing them to rise to the top.
- Cycle: When the droplets reach the surface, the gas bubbles escape, the colored water becomes denser again, and it sinks back down, creating the cyclical motion that looks like lava.
So, while traditional lava lamps use a specific wax-like substance, in this homemade version, the "lava" is effectively water colored with food coloring that is manipulated by density changes caused by gas production.
