Make a homemade lava lamp without electricity. Combine four simple ingredients and chemistry will take care of the rest.

Equipment

  • Water
  • Food colouring
  • Room temperature vegetable oil
  • Soda tablets
  • A tall and narrow container. You may use a soda bottle if you cut off the upper part of the bottle neck

Instructions

  1. Pour 500-600 ml of warm water into the bottle and add a few drops of food colouring
  2. Pour room temperature vegetable oil onto the water. Let the oil form an even layer on top of the water
  3. Break 1 or 2 soda tablets into two and drop them into the bottle
  4. Add more soda tablets when your lava lamp stops bubbling

What happens?

Oil is hydrophobic, which means that it does not like water. This is why oil and water don’t mix. The oil weighs less than water and therefore floats on top. The soda tablet sinks to the bottom of the bottle and begins dissolving. A carbon dioxide gas is created and bubbles to the surface. A little bit of coloured water is carried to the surface along with the gas. As the gas bubbles burst, and the gas disappears out into the air, the water sinks back down through the oil. Warm water makes the soda tablet dissolve faster than cold water. Experiment with different kinds of soda tablets and see what kind makes the best homemade lava lamp.

Want even more bubbling fun?

Bubbling Lava

Bubbling Lava

 

  • Make your own volcano with this simple kit.
  • Look when the water changes color and the volcanic eruption starts.
  • Contains a plastic bottle, cooking oil, lava tablets and instructions in English.
€9.00
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Make a homemade lava lamp without electricity. Combine four simple ingredients and chemistry will take care of the rest. Equipment Water Food colouring Room temperature vegetable oil Soda tablets A tall and narrow container. You may use a soda bottle if you cut off the upper part of the bottle neck Instructions Pour 500-600 ml….Click to read more