Distinguishing plastics without analysis?

Quote: Originally posted by UC235

Yes, there's only a few common plastics used for this sort of thing and they have different physical properties. Without even looking, my guess would be polypropylene which is widely used for plastic lab disposables. What do they look like? Are they opaue, hazy and translucent, or clear? Are they hard and "glassy" or do they have give to them?

Here's a picture of one of them.
They also have a very opaque, blue cap, similar to the cap of the water bottle in the picture.

The test tube itself feels hard, but it definitely doesn't act like glass. It is much more stable, and I could probably only break it by hitting it with a hammer or doing something of similar or greater force. The tip, on the other hand, has elastic properties and you can bend it with some force without it breaking or permanently being changed.

[Edited on 14-3-2020 by Draeger]

Quote: Originally posted by Deathunter88

Looks like polycarbonate to me, can you send a clearer picture.

Here's a clearer one. Might also be slightly corroded by ethanol I had in it for years when I didn't know ethanol ate some plastics.

[Edited on 15-3-2020 by Draeger]

Quote: Originally posted by Heptylene

It could also be polystyrene or PET. If you can afford to destroy one, try smashing it. It it shatters easily it's likely to be polystyrene. Polycarbonate is impact resistant and won't shatter. PET won't shatter either.