Art - to go a step further...

Reinventing a lava lamp as a slowly spinning sphere and using elecricity instead of heat as the energy source as well as a material that would tend to remain in much smaller globs ( even microscopicly ) could produce some fantastic representations of the universe.

S=Of course some of the many forces that would still be missing is the expansion of space, the addition of much more mass than is present (to mimic the unseen dimensions) and the pervasive repellent force that is some kind of anti gravity.

The electric source (electrode) at the center and a positive charge at the perimeter of the sphere (as in a lattice of wires) would mimic our solar system quite well. All the planets comets etc in our solar system are acting lke capaciters.

Geiven the right medium and a darkened room we maight even be able to detect a glow around certain particles in orbit within the "lava lamp the next generation"

...or at least some damn good kinetic art.

Here is something you can try right away.

Get a Q tip that with a bit of rubbing alcohol on one cotton end. Go into a totally dark closet and light the tip. Orbit the Q tip in a circle and then smaller faster circles.

You will see a trailing glov of light behind the burning Q tip that looks too real to be a simple after image. It can even be made to orbit the Q tip like a moon if you do it just right.
I discovered this phenomenon as a kid and still think its rather fascinating.