What is the Mohs scale?

Mohs Hardness Test is the most important test to identify mineral specimens. It compares minerals' resistance by ten minerals that are known as the Mohs Hardness Scale. This test is very helpful because most of the specimens of a specific mineral are close. Mohs Hardness Test makes hardness property a very reliable property of diagnostic.

A German mineralogist, named Friedrich Mohs, developed the Mohs Hardness scale in the year of 1812. He used ten different minerals of different hardness ranging from soft to hard mineral.

Making Comparisons of Hardness

Hardness is the property of resistance for a mineral to being scratched. Experts conduct this test by placing a specimen's sharp point on another specimen's unmarked surface and attempt to make a scratch.

Following four situations you might observe while comparing two specimens' hardness:

1. If A Specimen scratches B Specimen, then Specimen B is softer than Specimen A.

2. Otherwise, If A Specimen does not produce any scratch on Specimen B, then B Specimen is relatively harder than A Specimen.

3. If both specimens are equal in hardness then they will not scratch one another.

4. If Specimen B can scratch Specimen A but specimen C cannot scratch Specimen A, Specimen A's hardness lies between the hardness of Specimen B and Specimen C.

 Some Testing Tips

·   Regular practice improves your abilities to perform this test. Timely, you will become more confident and faster.

·   Some materials could be very brittle. Somehow, if your specimen is crumbling, be more careful during conducting this test. However, it could be difficult to test tiny or granular specimens.

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