I use a length of plastic tubing and after using it for a while (few months) it changed from clear to opaque. It had been exposed to heat, alcohol and water, nothing else. If you know why it changed colors please fill me in. Also, I would like to know if it is changed chemically that might effect things traveling through it or if it is merely a cosmetic change and I can ignore it for the most part.
If the plastic tubing was exposed to heat, then the resultant color change was most like due to a disruption in the chemical lattice of the plastic. A plastic is basically a polymer or group of polymers (polymer=same chemical compound repeated over and over again). When heat or another energy source is apllied, it has the ability to alter the polymer structure. Think of a polymer in similar terms as a crystal; all of the compounds in the plastic will align themselves in a similar way as the previous compound. When you do this with minerals, you end up with a clear or partially clear crystal. The same basic principal applies to polymers (plastics). Hope this helps!! P.S. some chemicals have the same ability to alter the plastic, same as an enrgy source..
