The Mohs Scale: What Is It and How Does It Work?
The Mohs Scale is used to measure the hardness of various minerals and gem stones. This scale helps to find out whether or not a selected mineral or gemstone is appropriate for jewellery functions or could also be too smooth or too laborious.
How Does The Mohs Scale Work?
The Mohs Scale is an ordinal scale which consists of ten completely different minerals, each graded in line with its hardness. The dimensions is ordered from softest to hardest, with talc beginning at 1, and diamond topping off the chart at 10. Every mineral is assigned a hardness degree based mostly on its capacity to scratch or be scratched by one other mineral.
Mohs Scale:
- Talc – 1
- Gypsum – 2
- Calcite – 3
- Fluorite – 4
- Apatite – 5
- Orthoclase – 6
- Quartz – 7
- Topaz – 8
- Corundum – 9
- Diamond – 10
To measure a mineral’s hardness, it’s in comparison with the opposite minerals within the Mohs Scale. For instance, in the event you needed to check a bit of quartz, you’ll take a look at its capacity to scratch a mineral from the size. Quartz would scratch minerals from #6 down (#orthoclase, #apatite, #calcite, #gypsum, and #talc), incomes it a hardness of #7.
What Is the Mohs Scale Used For?
The Mohs Scale is primarily used for figuring out minerals, judging their suitability for varied functions, and assessing their sturdiness. The dimensions can also be used to measure the hardness of gem stones and to find out their suitability for jewellery.
Tougher gem stones resembling diamonds and sapphires have a better ranking on the Mohs Scale and are dearer in consequence. Conversely, softer stones are sometimes cheaper and are generally utilized in costume jewellery.
The Mohs Scale is a dependable and simple-to-use software for assessing the hardness of various minerals and gem stones. Realizing the hardness of a fabric permits jewelers and craftsmen to create objects of an appropriate high quality and to make sure that their creations are each lovely and sturdy.
