Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Radiator lava display
Brighten up your radiator
  (+3)
(+3) 		  [vote for,
against]


A heat resistant glass mounted liquid filled lava display that can either be mounted on top of the radiator or formed so that it drapes up and over the radiator with the use of ceramics at the top which remains cool,allowing the lava flow to return to the bottom then flow to the top again.

By placing the thin glass lava tank on top of the radiator. When the heating is set to off it remains dormant.Once the radiator is switched on the heat convection rising should be sufficient to start the lava flow through the liquid and creating a colourful lava display and as the radiator cools it returns dormant.

By draping the radiator with a formed glass tank. As once again the lava flow will begin rising covering the entire radiator.Heat is reflected via ceramic shielding at the top of the draped tank allowing the lava to return to its cycle. Fluorescent silver mounted lamps left and right of the tanks illuminate the liquid and lava.

Most radiators are two joined back to back acting as one,therefore the heating can still be provided to the room via the sides dependent on which tank is used.

My understanding is heat resistant glass will work and its main feature being that it will not crack,melt or shatter when subject to the heat of the radiator.

I think.

skinflaps, Dec 09 2003


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       I'd probably buy one. But my bloody room is cold enough already, will this not use up a fair proportion of the heat?
silverstormer, Dec 09 2003
   

       silver, i think it would initially use up the heat, but then it has to realease it somewhere, so it would let it out into the room ... in the end you would get the same amount of heating, it would just be delayed a bit.
luecke, Dec 09 2003
   

       what about just a lava radiator, instead of a lava lamp, this is close to a perfect idea!
neilp, Dec 09 2003
   

       [ neilp ] I thought about the entire radiator acting as a lava lamp,however my understanding is that you need to cool the top so that you create the flow of lava without it sticking to the top and allowing it to return.,a radiator has a constant flow of hot water.I agree this would be ideal if possible.
skinflaps, Dec 09 2003
   

       make it so [skin] I'd love it. (+) anyway for the idea.
neilp, Dec 09 2003
   

       I keep reading "Radiator Love Display". Which could be a number of things, if you think about it.
squeak, Dec 09 2003
   

       Auto accidents on the rise as drivers are entranced by lava radiators. --More at 11--
Letsbuildafort, Dec 09 2003
   

       [lets] .. I think we were talking about radiators in the home, rather than car radiators, although that would be an altogether charming add-on.
neilp, Dec 09 2003
   

       [luecke] Would the movement of the wax not require energy?
silverstormer, Dec 09 2003
   

       Yeah, I'm just more accustomed to hearing about radiators in an automotive sense ... charming in both both applications, I agree ...
Letsbuildafort, Dec 09 2003
   

       [ss] But in the end the wax doesn't go anywhere - no net work is done. (sorry [wax], I hope your boss isn't reading this)
Worldgineer, Dec 09 2003
   

       [silverstormer] - Yes, you have to put energy into the wax/lava to heat it and make it rise. Some of that energy will then be lost in the form of friction as the lava moves around, but friction energy is just heat, so it is lost in a desirable manner. The rest of the energy is then released as heat into the environment as the lava cools off and sinks down.   

       I would have to dig out my thermo book to be sure, but I believe that all of the energy you put into the system would come back out in the form of heat. Your starting and ending conditions are the same (cold lava resting on the bottom), I cant think of any way the lava would permanently store the energy, and you are not creating mass (destroying energy), so what goes in as energy must come out as heat.
luecke, Dec 09 2003
   

       Yeah [luecke], I conceed. I did doubt my question soon after posting.
silverstormer, Dec 09 2003
   

       + I'd like to have one of these right now.
xandram, May 06 2006
   


 
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