When making my lava lamps I just used negative strength coupled with
positive strength blob components to fake the interactions.

Bob

Chris Maryan <mar### [at] mcmasterca> wrote in message
news:37EFE977.7E7F6AFC@mcmaster.ca...
> I studied real lava lamps a bit to get the basis for this project
and
> have come to the conclusion that wax that blobs together is
considerably
> more interesting. I think my interpretation of the physics of the
motion
> is fairly complete, at least to the point that it could fake what
really
> happens fairly well. The only thing missing is some algorithms for
the
> graphics/blobing.
>
> Ron Parker wrote:
> >
> > On Mon, 27 Sep 1999 11:09:40 -0400, Chris Maryan wrote:
> > >The area would be spherical when the center point is
> > >away from any other center point/area groups and would blend
together
> > >with other groups when they are close (Think blobs, defined by a
center
> > >point and having a specific radius when not influenced by other
blobs).
> >
> > This isn't true of the lava lamp in my son's room.  The blobs in
his
> > lamp don't tend to merge due to surface tension and/or temperature
effects,
> > so most of them end up being either spherical or ellipsoidal after
they
> > separate from the mass of wax at the bottom of the lamp.  They
tend to
> > change eccentricity as they rise, due to oscillations induced by
the "neck"
> > breaking and a large quantity of wax being pulled toward the
center of
> > the blob by surface tension.  There is also an area at the top of
the lamp
> > populated by a bunch of spheres of various sizes, packed together
(and thus
> > no longer spherical, but you might get away with representing them
as spheres
> > for POV purposes.)  Every now and then, one of those spheres cools
off enough
> > to sink back to the bottom but it doesn't attempt to merge with
blobs on their
> > way up; it seems to bounce or roll off of them.  How long it takes
a sphere to
> > cool and fall is probably a complex function of its radius (the
ratio of volume
> > to surface area is proportional to radius) and its position within
the cluster
> > (the temperature gradient is probably higher near the outside of
the lamp, so
> > heat transfer takes place more quickly.)
>
> --
> Chris Maryan
> mailto: mar### [at] mcmasterca
> ***
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