Home▸Everyday Physics▸Lava Lamp Fluid Dynamics: Rayleigh–Bénard Convection (2D)

Lava Lamp Fluid Dynamics: Rayleigh–Bénard Convection (2D)

2D lava-lamp lab driven by real thermal-fluid physics: a finite-difference heat-diffusion grid heats blobs from below and cools them from above, buoyancy from the Boussinesq approximation pushes them up or down, and a live Rayleigh number tells you whether the fluid is convecting or just conducting.

Everyday Physics2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

This 2D companion replaces the 3D version's scripted up/down wobble with an actual thermal-fluid model: a finite-difference heat grid conducts warmth from a heated base to a cooled cap, wax blobs sample that field and gain buoyancy through the Boussinesq approximation, and a live Rayleigh number — computed from the real heater, cooling and viscosity settings — tells you whether the fluid is quietly conducting heat or actively convecting, the same dimensionless test used to classify real Rayleigh–Bénard flow.

⚙ Under the hood

2D lava-lamp lab with a finite-difference heat-diffusion grid, Boussinesq buoyancy on each wax blob, and a live Rayleigh number that classifies the flow as conductive or convecting.

lava lampconvection currentsrayleigh-bénardbuoyancyheat diffusionboussinesq approximation

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install