Lava Lamp Mystery

When I left the thing in a student flat-share back in the 70s it was orange. Can I have it back ? Like my ol' blue jeans, maybe it just faded.

gratuitous link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfyPiRMGaCM

tHE iNVERSE oF lAVA lAMP mUSIC

Did you leave it in the sun? Near a window?

Purple or blues have a tendancy to fade from sun.

No, actually it was never in the sun. I guess I don't understand the physics of a dye in suspension in a liquid, fading. Although I do work with graphics (billboards, signs, etc.) in the sun fading, I never really thought about what actually happens to color, in liquid or solid, when it fades. In either case, no this lava was never in the sun.

As far as the first reply above ... no I didn't get this in a car boot sale. So it's unlikely that it was yours. Although I did get my dogs-playing-poker shirt there. But that's another story ...

Did the pigments deposit on the bottom?

Unsafe suggestion: Pop an acid, the colors may come back!

Definatly purple.

Contrary to popular belief, lava lamps are living eco-systems. Ignore them, and they soon wither and die. As with all brightly colored creatures, their color fades soon after death... Now, don't you feel better.

Hi kris

Its the Blues that dies last. Pun intended. UV light will neutralise un-noble pigments. Only a few will be stable 'till the cows come home. Besides other electro chemical reactions. Gold flakes would be more suitable in the buggers. I'll start manufacturing them tomorrow. Or..... See ya's. Ky.

Come on guys. It's a NICE pillow. Maybe he's been talkin to Englishrose for ideas!

Even I'll eat Quiche when i'm starving!

If you boys don't stop it right now, I am going to give you a wack with my handbag.

I hope you are correct. Someone gave me one a few Christmases ago and it doesnt work as well as they used to in the earlier days. Cant determine the reason and I'm ready to chuck it in the trash.

There was a program on a few months ago. As I recall, the fluid they used to use is considered toxic today. Benzene maybe? (Who would have guessed. Some of our water is considered toxic. The only reason alcohol isn't taken off the market is because of $$$$$$$$.)

I believe you are correct; actually, ethanol is probably the indirect cause of many more deaths annually than benzene. Politicians know that prohibition almost caused a revolution; besides they get too many taxes from alcohol. Just another governmental intervention into our lives to prevent us from harming ourselves.

Jaguar,

The original lava lamps used carbon tetrachloride.

Most newer ones use benzyl alcohol, but some also contain cinnamyl alcohol or diethyl phthalate.

But getting back to the original question, I would presume that over the 4 years that Out of Box Experience had his lava lamp, the organic dye that was originally installed in the lamp has denatured and broken down into colorless by-products.

'diethyl phthalate'

Do you pronounce that or sneeze it? Sounds too nasty to be used for the manufacture of tooth brushes!

same reason red fades on outdoor signs.

and fabrics exposed to sun.

The colorant breaks down from the exposure to intense light.

put a magnetic sign on a car that sits out all day, and pull it off six months later- you will see the difference in the shaded paint vs the unshaded.

milo

Well I've never seen such an overwhelming proportion of shite in the first 28 replies to a question. From nancy embroidery... to Rambo Rodent. Impressive! Although We are amused, I still don't know why I lost my Reds. I used to watch my erotic undulating shapes through a purple haze. Now it's all clear.

Is the breakdown of pigment caused by sunlight? ... or any light? ... as in the light from the lamp itself. (40 watt appliance bulb) It was never in the sun, as I have kept my shades drawn since the 70's. And I'm interested in knowing what physically happens to the pigments. Are the pigments particles that break apart which causes a loss of color? What exactly is "fading"? You'd think they would have taken this into consideration when they made the lamp. What kind of research was put into this thing before they filled it?

I'm still in the dark.

Why, is your lamp broken as well then?

I will get serious right now and find out, sorry but you should have understood that all that prancing about means that we don't realy know either.

I will be back don't worry.

I am sorry to say that ALL info I find point at ultraviolet light of any source. Most quote similar to the exerpt below which came of a printing ink website as that is my background, I feel comfortable there

q: What makes an ink fade?
a: Exposure to direct sunlight will bombard the pigment molecules and, over time, will cause them to "bleach out". This phenomenon is actually a chemical reaction catalyzed by the UV wavelengths in light. Certain pigments fade more than others. Yellows and reds predominately will be the first shades to fade, but all pigments will fade over time.

Pigment fading is held to the "Blue Wool Scale" standard. This is a standard system devised by textile manufactures over 100 years ago and is based on a scale from 1 to 8. The higher in the scale you go, the better fade resistance you will see. Each incremental division in the scale is exponentially higher than the last, analogous to the Richter scale in measuring earthquake magnitude.

An ink is considered "lightfast" if it has a Blue Wool Scale rating above 6.

"Are the pigments particles that break apart which causes a loss of color? What exactly is "fading"? "

fading is thebreakdown of the molecule by applied energy- Light, uv, heat, etc.- so that its optical properties (absorbance, reflectance a t specific wavelengths is altered. organic dyes typically have a benzene chain with other species appended (amines, etc.)

Many Dyes are organic chemicals, not particles, but molecules. Aniline is a major type that we synthesized in organic chemistry back in College. it is a benzene with an NH2 attached. heres some facts about aniline dye breakdown in another application:

Test Results
The two aniline dyes proved to be extremely light sensitive with noticeable fading even on a year-to-year basis. After 10 years, the aniline dye in both the water stain and the alcohol stain had faded so completely that the natural color of the wood predominated. Similar results occurred with the aniline dye coated with two coats of orange shellac.

The UF-3 Plexiglas filter had only negligible effect on the durability of the aniline dyes. The dyes in this case had nearly completely faded out as well. Tests were run using a Crawford UV monitor to determine whether the UF- 3 Plexiglas was still performing at the same level as when first used. Readings taken on a clear summer day through the glass panes of the window indicated that approximately 450 microwatts per lumen were landing on the wood blocks. With the UF-3, 1/8" Plexiglas, most of the ultraviolet rays coming through the window were being filtered out, as the reading of about 50 microwatts indicated. Also of interest in regards to the long-term effectiveness of such filters, both the 10-year old UF-3 Plexiglas used on the wood test blocks and new UF-3 Plexiglas registered the same ultraviolet reading.

The UF-3 Plexiglas and orange shellac seemingly offered insufficient protection against the harmful natural light during the 10-year test period. In stark contrast with the two aniline dyes, the oil stain was only minimally affected by the light. (This is not to imply, however, that over a much longer period noticeable differences might not occur with the oil stain.) Although further testing would be needed to establish broader findings regarding the durability of stains when, exposed to natural light, the 10-year test supports the following conclusions:

1. Natural light is damaging to certain types of wood finishes, even in cases of only indirect light exposure.
2. Although only a few aniline dyes were tested, the results strongly indicate that they are extremely light sensitive.

Your results are not unexpected based on the above.

milo "colorfast and waterrepellent are marketing, not technical terms"

Normal shite will resume shortly......

Breaking your comode next?

probably only good for 300+ posts

Hell, we're clever enough to take it to a thou or more.

10 pages...10 pages...10 pages... Our new mantra!

We're up to 50 with this one and it's only about a lousy lamp.

notice it takes real time to get to the newest posts?

[@ least on that thread]

Found this which does not yet explain what happens but it clearly states that not only windows will fade your lava colours.

The color of my LAVA® brand motion lamp has faded. Is this covered by the warranty?
The colors in a LAVA® brand motion lamp will fade if the lamp is placed in a window or in direct sunlight. The lamp colors may also fade over a long period of time, or if the lamp is placed near another light source, (such as another lamp). The warranty does not cover fading.

Just to prove I am looking for you

Sorry to hear that the warranty does not cover the fading, would it cover the aftermath effects of coming to terms with the fact you once owned one?

Very interesting case491. I should have known you would come up with valid info. You do afterall, have a prism coming out of your skull.

Hey, we are here for ya

UV light breaks down covalent bonds changing the refraction properties of the fluid.

Some organic dyes decompose gradually over time. Especially when contact with easily oxidized materials like oils/waxes.

Hi Out of Box,

Could it be that your lamp has been left exposed to direct sunlight which may have helped to bleach the colour out of the liquid?

Could you open the cap when the lamp is cold and add a few drips of dye to the mix?
Not too dark or you will have a hard time seeing the goo.

(The same kind that is used to dye plastic RC car parts would do fine.)

Hey! What type of dye is used for RC car parts?! You've got me interested!

I could. But the cap of the bottle is a soda-pop type of metal cap that was put on using... well, the machine that puts caps on soda bottles. I don't know that I could properly seal the bottle again once I pried the cap off.

Nothing worse than leaking lava...

Perhaps I should think out of the box....