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  4. The Mohs Scale
Banner Mohs Scale EN v1.1 1

The Mohs Scale

31/03/2022 by Paula Parra in Mining

The Mohs scale was created in the first half of the 19th century by the German geologist Friedrich Mohs. Today, it is the best known method used to define the hardness of minerals. There are other hardness scales such as the Knoop, Brinell or Rockwell scales – however, these are much more sophisticated and are really for malleable rather than crystalline materials.

It is used by geologists because it is simple and straightforward to use. It is based on the principle that a substance can scratch another substance that is softer, but not the other way around.

It uses a scale of ten minerals, each corresponding to a hardness number. The scale ranges from 1 (talc) which is scratched by all the other minerals, to 10 (diamond) which can scratch all of the other minerals.

It is important to keep in mind when using this scale that it is not linear. The minerals were chosen for their relative abundance, not their exact hardness, so the scale is a bit of a compromise. So, from calcite to fluorite there is a 25% increase in hardness, while from corundum to diamond the increase is 300%. So the jump in hardness between two minerals is variable.

Escala de Mohs RRSS ENGLISH 1

The Mohs scale is shown below, along with what can scratch each mineral:

Talc: easily scratched by a fingernail.

Gypsum: more easily scratched by a fingernail

Calcite: scratched by a coin

Fluorite: scratched with a knife

Apatite: scratched with difficulty by a knife

Orthoclase: scratched by a steel file

Quartz: scratched with glass

Topaz: scratched by tungsten tools

Corundum: scratched by silicon carbide tools

Diamond: scratched by another diamond and scratches all the previous minerals

In the same way that Mohs establishes these minerals as a measure of hardness, there are other common objects which we can highlight:

Hardness 2-3: a fingernail

Hardness 3: copper foil

Hardness 4-5: iron nail

Hardness 4- 7: glass beaker

Hardness 5-6.5: knife blade and steel nail file

Hardness 5-7: steel nail

Hardness 7: Quartz

 

06/04/2022
GeologyMineralsMiningSPT
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