Lava+Lamp+Project




 * Lava Lamp Project**. **AJ**. During this project our group will be testing different levels of chemicals to make the best suspended solution a.k.a. lava lamp. This will be done with 100% Isopropyl Alcohol, 70% Isopropyl Alcohol, Mineral Oil and Water. Different types of dyes will also be used to try and change the color of both the hydrophobic and hydrophilic solutions. The ideas used in this experiment are: hydrophobic and hydrophilic solutions, densities and layering, solubility, ratios, and chemical and physical properties. It was found that a ratio of 2/3 100% Isopropyl Alcohol and 1/3 Water added to a proportional amount of mineral oil makes a suspended solution under heat. Adding a heating coil in the bottom of the solution makes it heat up faster and become suspended. After adding dye to both the Mineral Oil and the Alcohol and water solutions, it was found that it works much better if only one is dyed, otherwise the solution does not keep its transparent properties, which are important to be able to see the suspended Mineral Oil inside the Alcohol and Water. The addition of Turpentine showed no results in changing the surface properties of the Mineral Oil as hypothesized.

After finding the densities of all of the compounds that were going to be used in this experiment it became clear that the mixed solution of 70% and 100% Isopropyl Alcohol would not make a solution that was close to the density of Mineral Oil. At first 70% Isopropyl Alcohol was used with water to find a good density, but after many test 100% Isopropyl Alcohol was used instead for its more known density. After trying many different ratios in 4 different bottles, it was found that a mixture of 2/3 100% Isopropyl Alcohol and 1/3 Water would mix to make a solution with a density just less than Mineral Oil. This would make a total solution that would heat and become suspended. With the addition of color can another problem. It became clear that only one type of dye could be used because if two were used they would mix too much and make the whole solution too dark to be transparent. This is because there is a small amount of solubility between the water and the mineral oil because not completely pure mineral oil was used.
 * Results Summary**


 * Data Table:**

(Switched to 100% Isopropyl Alcohol)
 * Ratios Tried at Full Scale:**

Bottle # || Ratio (100% Alcohol : Water) || Amount of Alcohol || Amount of Water || Results || Bottle 1 || 20:11 || 161.2 ml || 88.6 ml || Mineral Oil was at bottom, heat no effect. || Bottle 2 || 20:9.5 || 169.5 ml || 80.1 ml || Mineral Oil was at bottom, heat had no effect. || Bottle 3 || 3:1 || 187.5 ml || 62.5 ml || Mineral Oil has more on a meniscus but still at bottom of jar, no change with heat || Bottle 4 || 2:1 || 166.6 ml || 83.3 ml || Mineral Oil is above mixed solution, upon heating moves up and down in jar || ‘Lava Lamp’ Bottle || 2:1 || 468.8 ml || 156.3 ml || Mineral Oil stayed at bottom of jar. Bubbled under heat, did not move up and down in bottle ||

This research article explains the effects of N-methyl pyrrolidone. This chemical (NMP) can effect other solutions changing their physical properties, such as solubility. It is mostly used for drugs, so the needed chemicals can be dissolved in a persons body. This makes it easier to get these needed chemicals into a person because they can now take pills that will be dissolved with their stomach acids. The reason this article can be applied to making lava lamps, is the changing of solubility. If a person can change the solubility of different solutions then it would be much easier to make a lava lamp with almost any chemical.
 * Article Summary**

Sanghvi, Ritesh, Ryuichi Narazaki, Stephen Machatha, and Samuel Yalkowsky. "Solubility Improvement of Drugs using N -Methyl Pyrrolidone ." //Springer Link// (2008): n. pag. Web. 9 Feb 2010. .
 * Article Citation**