Friedrich Mohs was a German minerologist who categorized the hardness of minerals (and stones, rocks, gems…) based on a harder mineral being able to scratch a softer mineral. The Mohs scale is on a scale of 1-10.
So: 1 is talc and graphite (in a pencil) – you can scratch them with your fingernail (which is about a 2.2, incidentally)
And: 10 is diamond – the hardest natural material known.
Here is a breakdown with some examples or where certain gemstones fit into the Mohs scale:
- Talc, graphite
- Gypsum
- Calcite, copper
- Fluorite
- Apatite, cobalt, tooth anamel
- Feldspar
- Quartz
- Topaz, emerald, aquamarine, cubic zirconia
- Corundum (ruby, sapphire)
- Diamond
September 28, 2011 at 3:38 am
thats soo stupid they dont add the ones you mit be looking for like cobalt its stupid they should change it.