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Moh's Scale of hardness
Developed by Moh, a German mineralogist, this table is not a scale in which the numbers indicate equal divisions of hardness. In other words, the intervals of hardness between the numbers are not equal. Moh's Scale is valuable, when testing the relative hardness of gem material, i.e., a mineral of hardness 8 will scratch another mineral of hardness 7.
Relative & Absolute Hardness Scale
(Scratch Hardness : Moh's) |
Relative Hardness can be evaluated
with the following objects |
|
Talc |
1 |
Moh's Hardness |
Can be scratched with |
|
Gypsum |
2 |
2.5 or under |
Finger nail |
|
Calcite |
3 |
3.0 |
Copper coin |
|
Fluorite |
4 |
6.0 to 7.0 |
Steel file |
|
Apatite, Glass |
5 |
5.5 or under |
Knife blade |
|
Orthoclase |
6 |
5.5 |
Scratches window glass |
|
Quartz, Amethyst |
7 |
 |
|
Topaz |
8 |
|
Corundum, Ruby, Sapphire |
9 |
|
Diamond |
10 |
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