Ferrofluid Lamp

If you spend a lot of time just browsing through random content on the web, then you must have stumbled upon ferrofluids and the interesting shape shifting properties they get when exposed to a magnetic field. People are experimenting more and more with them and we can see its presence in the commercial market. One product which revolves around the use of ferrofluids is the Ferrofluid Lamp developed by Kyle Haines.

The motion of the ferrofluid in the lamp

Ferrofluids were developed in 1963 by NASA’s Steve Papell so it could be used as a rocket fuel in a weightless environment by drawing the fuel toward the pump with a magnetic field. Ferrofluids have found applications in a lot of fields like mechanical engineering, analytical instrumentation, spacecraft propulsion and medicine. Amazed by the properties of this fluid, Kyle Haines found a simple way to bring it straight to our homes in the form of a lamp. We are all familiar with lava lamps and at some point we either had one or considered buying one due to its mesmerizing appeal. The lamp which Haines made is based on lava lamps and has a similar design. However, it is much more appealing than a lava lamp due to the fact that you can interact with the blobs of ferrofluid in the lamp. By using magnets, you can dictate the movement and shape of the blobs in this lamp. The blobs will not just remain stationary when you aren’t playing around with them because ferrofluid is not just sensitive to magnetic fields; it also reacts to heat.

The motion of the ferrofluid under the influence of heat

The light source of the lamp can make the blobs rise/fall and change shape so you don’t have to play around with it all the time. The use of a light source as a way to alter the fluid in a lamp is the basic principle used in making the blobs in lava lamps move. Haines developed two products called Inspiration and Thinker. Inspiration is the lamp, while the Thinker is a container with a permanently magnetized bolt and 3 ml of ferrofluids for you to mess around with. The Thinker also comes with magnets and the ferrofluid inside is available in two additional colors: blue and gold.

Thinker with gold color variant

You can obtain one of these neat lamps on Kickstarter and we strongly recommend that you do so because the retail price of Inspiration and Thinker will be higher than it is currently on Kickstarter. Inspiration is currently priced at $149 while the Thinker is available for $49. If you want to add something out of the ordinary to your home, this interactive ferrofluid lamps is a must have. [via] watch video below