So that’s left us wondering-what is it that they do these days to make the wax dense enough to create the desired effect? So What Is in a Lava Lamp? As such, the United States banned the usage of the chemical in 1970. However, studies have shown that exposure to it over a long period of time can affect the central nervous system, and in certain amounts can even be fatal. However, pure paraffin wax is actually lighter than water, so to get it dense enough to sink, Walker mixed in a little carbon tetrachloride.Ĭarbon tetrachloride may sound like a decently harmless chemical, and it has been used in fire extinguishers, refrigerants, and as a cleaning agent in the past. Wires at the bottom of the bottle would help break up the wax to cause dynamic wax shapes. With the lamp in operation, the wax on the bottom would melt over the hot lamp, become buoyant, and rise through the water.Īs it distanced from the heat of the light bulb and cooled, it would become dense again and lose that buoyancy, causing it to fall back down in the cycle we’re familiar with. Walker’s original lava lamp was a glass bottle over a halogen lamp with water and wax inside. However, there were small differences between the internal mechanisms and chemicals. When the first basic lava lamp was invented in 1963 by Walker and his company, it looked much the same as the kind we see today. The company holds several awards for innovation and new designs. Walker’s company continues to hold the rights to the Astro Lamp in the UK and manufacture them and similar products. Manufacturing was moved to China and the brand was acquired in 2018 by Schylling Incorporated, which continues to make American lava lamps.
Haggerty created a subsidiary company called Lava World International, which manufactured lava lamps in North America for more than 30 years. However, in the late 1970s, the two sold the US rights to Larry Haggerty. The two bought the American rights so they could begin manufacturing and selling the lamps in Chicago, Illinois, under the name Lava Lite Lamp. Moving out of the UK, two men, Adolph Wertheimer and Hy Spector, saw Walker’s product at a trade show in Germany. Variations like the Astro Mini and the lantern-style Astro Coach were also sold in the UK. The patent was issued in 1968 and Walker released the lamp under his UK-based company, Crestworth, with its original name-the Astro. He then hired David George Smith, a British inventor, to design a “display device” and the chemical formula he would need for it. In 1963, in a pub in Chicago, Illinois, Edward Craven Walker encountered a homemade egg timer made from a cocktail shaker filled with liquid.
To fully understand the processes of a lava lamp, let’s go back to the beginning and learn a bit about the classic lava lamp. Remember seeing a lava lamp for the first time as a kid and thinking, “There is absolutely magic happening in there,” as the only explanation you had for the phenomenon happening before your eyes? As it turns out, there is actually a scientific process behind the operation of a lava lamp, but we didn’t get to where we are overnight. Let’s get right to it! Where Did the Lava Lamp Come From?Īlright, this one is a bit of a history lesson. They were a favorite in teenager bedrooms, band practice rooms, bars, and dorm rooms, to name a few.Īnd while most of us have spent at least a few minutes staring at a lava lamp as the insides goop around, we have had the thought of “what is in a lava lamp?” It obviously isn’t really lava, so what exactly is in it? Here we take a look at what you need to know about the famous lava lamp and what it contains. If you didn’t have one (which, if we are honest, is highly unlikely), then you knew someone who did. There is nothing more nostalgic than a good old lava lamp. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links." "This site contains affiliate links to products.