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Design

Lose the Lava Lamp and Light Up a New Ferrofluid Display

The magic magnetic lamp now lights up and comes in five mind-melting colors.
Images courtesy the artist

Whether a sign of bohemian class or a psychedelic accessory, the trippy lava lamp is forever a funky addition to any apartment. Now, modern technology has yielded its 21st century successor, using nanoparticles and magnets.

Designer Kyle Haines launched a ferrofluid lamp Kickstarter project last year (1263% in contributions) which introduced “a generation's answer to the original 1960's lava lamp.” This new type of lamp has an interactive magnetic fluid inside that you can shape by moving a magnet outside of the bottle.

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This Monday, Haines launches a sequel Kickstarter for a new ferrofluid lamp, The Illumination. Encasing 15ml of vibrant, colored ferrofluid, the 450ml tube offers a glowing new update to the previous design. “I'm actually surprised how long it took me to realize that I could use the lamp to illuminate the colored ferrofluid," Haines reveals, of the biggest new feature. He tells The Creators Project, "I always knew that the colored ferrofluid looked much better with a light source shining on it. It wasn't until I dropped a magnet inside the bottle that I started to put the pieces of the puzzle together."

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By adding the magnet to the bottom of the lamp, Haines makes the ferrofluid globules spike constantly. As a result, the colored ferrofluid reflects the vibrant light coming from the bottom of the metal base. “The magnet caused the ferrofluid to take on a new shape that left an opening in the bottom for light to shine up and directly onto the ferrofluid,” Haines explains.

Beyond these enhancements, the Illuminator has five different color options: gold, red, platinum, purple, and blue.

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Click here to take home the 21st century's answer to the Lava Lamp.

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