Mohs scale of mineral hardness

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The Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material. It was created in 1812 by the German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs and is one of several definitions of hardness in materials science.[1] The method of comparing hardness by seeing which minerals can scratch others, however, is of great antiquity, having been mentioned by Theophrastus in his treatise On Stones, c. 300 BC, followed by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia, c. 77 AD.[2][3][4]

Contents

Minerals [edit]

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness is based on the ability of one natural sample of matter to scratch another mineral. The samples of matter used by Mohs are all different minerals. Minerals are pure substances found in nature. Rocks are made up of one or more minerals.[5] As the hardest known naturally occurring substance when the scale was designed, diamonds are at the top of the scale. The hardness of a material is measured against the scale by finding the hardest material that the given material can scratch, and/or the softest material that can scratch the given material. For example, if some material is scratched by apatite but not by fluorite, its hardness on the Mohs scale would fall between 4 and 5.[6]

The Mohs scale is a purely ordinal scale. For example, corundum (9) is twice as hard as topaz (8), but diamond (10) is four times as hard as corundum. The table below shows comparison with absolute hardness measured by a sclerometer, with pictorial examples.[7][8]

Mohs hardness Mineral Chemical formula Absolute hardness Image
1 Talc Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 1 Talc block.jpg
2 Gypsum CaSO4·2H2O 3 Gypse Arignac.jpg
3 Calcite CaCO3 9 Calcite-sample2.jpg
4 Fluorite CaF2 21 Fluorite with Iron Pyrite.jpg
5 Apatite Ca5(PO4)3(OH–,Cl–,F–) 48 Apatite crystals.jpg
6 Orthoclase Feldspar KAlSi3O8 72 OrthoclaseBresil.jpg
7 Quartz SiO2 100 Quartz Brésil.jpg
8 Topaz Al2SiO4(OH–,F–)2 200 Topaz cut.jpg
9 Corundum Al2O3 400 Cut Ruby.jpg
10 Diamond C 1600 Rough diamond.jpg

On the Mohs scale, graphite (a principal constituent of pencil "lead") has a hardness of 1.5; a fingernail, 2.2–2.5; a copper penny, 3.2–3.5; a pocketknife 5.1; a knife blade, 5.5[clarification needed]; window glass plate, 5.5; and a steel file, 6.5.[9] A streak plate (unglazed porcelain) has a hardness of 7.0. Using these ordinary materials of known hardness can be a simple way to approximate the position of a mineral on the scale.[1]

Intermediate hardness [edit]

The table below incorporates additional substances that may fall between levels:

Hardness Substance or mineral
0.2–0.3 caesium, rubidium
0.5–0.6 lithium, sodium, potassium
1 talc
1.5 gallium, strontium, indium, tin, barium, thallium, lead, graphite
2 hexagonal boron nitride,[10] calcium, selenium, cadmium, sulfur, tellurium, bismuth
2.5–3 magnesium, gold, silver, aluminium, zinc, lanthanum, cerium, Jet (lignite)
3 calcite, copper, arsenic, antimony, thorium, dentin
4 fluorite, iron, nickel
4–4.5 platinum, steel
5 apatite, cobalt, zirconium, palladium, tooth enamel, obsidian (volcanic glass)
5.5 beryllium, molybdenum, hafnium
6 orthoclase, titanium, manganese, germanium, niobium, rhodium, uranium
6–7 glass, fused quartz, iron pyrite, silicon, ruthenium, iridium, tantalum, opal, peridot
7 osmium, quartz, rhenium, vanadium
7.5–8 emerald, hardened steel, tungsten, spinel
8 topaz, cubic zirconia
8.5 chrysoberyl, chromium, silicon nitride, tantalum carbide
9–9.5 corundum, silicon carbide (carborundum), tungsten carbide, titanium carbide
9.5–10 boron, boron nitride, rhenium diboride, stishovite, titanium diboride
10 diamond, carbonado
>10 nanocrystalline diamond (hyperdiamond, ultrahard fullerite)

Hardness (Vickers) [edit]

Comparison between Hardness (Mohs) and Hardness (Vickers):[11]

Mineral
name		 Hardness (Mohs) Hardness (Vickers)
kg/mm2
Graphite 1–2 VHN10=7–11
Tin 1½ VHN10=7–9
Bismuth 2–2½ VHN100=16–18
Gold 2½ VHN10=30–34
Silver 2½ VHN100=61–65
Chalcocite 2½–3 VHN100=84–87
Copper 2½–3 VHN100=77–99
Galena 2½ VHN100=79–104
Sphalerite 3½–4 VHN100=208–224
Heazlewoodite 4 VHN100=230–254
Carrollite 4½–5½ VHN100=507–586
Goethite 5–5½ VHN100=667
Hematite 5–6 VHN100=1,000–1,100
Chromite 5½ VHN100=1,278–1,456
Anatase 5½–6 VHN100=616–698
Rutile 6–6½ VHN100=894–974
Pyrite 6–6½ VHN100=1,505–1,520
Bowieite 7 VHN100=858–1,288
Euclase 7½ VHN100=1,310
Chromium 8½ VHN100=1,875–2,000

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 Feb. 2009 "Mohs hardness."
  2. ^ Theophrastus on Stones. Farlang.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-10.
  3. ^ Pliny the Elder. Naturalis Historia. Book 37. Chap. 15. ADamas: six varieties of it. Two remedies.
  4. ^ Pliny the Elder.Naturalis Historia. Book 37. Chap. 76. The methods of testing precious stones.
  5. ^ Learn science, Intermediate p. 42
  6. ^ American Federation of Mineralogical Societies. "Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness"
  7. ^ Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery What is important about hardness?. galleries.com
  8. ^ Inland Lapidary Mineral Hardness and Hardness Scales
  9. ^ William S. Cordua (1998). "The Hardness of Minerals and Rocks". Lapidary Digest. Retrieved 2007-08-19.  Hosted at International Lapidary Association
  10. ^ Berger, Lev I. (1996). Semiconductor Materials (First ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0849389122. 
  11. ^ http://www.mindat.org

Further reading [edit]

  • Mohs hardness of elements is taken from G.V. Samsonov (Ed.) in Handbook of the physicochemical properties of the elements, IFI-Plenum, New York, USA, 1968.
  • Cordua, William S. "The Hardness of Minerals and Rocks". Lapidary Digest, c. 1990.
Mineral identification
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