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The Mohs Scale Of Hardness
This scale was invented by Austrian mineralogist Friedrich Mohs (1773-1839), and is used to measure a substance’s hardness. One substance is harder than another if it can scratch it; for example, a diamond (ranked 10 out of 10) will scratch a garnet (ranked 6.5-7.5), but not the other way around.
| Substance |
Hardness |
| Talcum |
1 |
| Amber, Fingernails, Ivory, Jet, Shell |
2.5 |
| Ametrine, Gold, Fuchsite, Silver, Wulfenite |
2 - 3 |
| Bronze, Copper, Coral, Pearl, Limestone |
3 |
| Azurite, Dolomite, Sphalerite |
3.5 - 4 |
| Iron, Flourite, Marble, Platinum |
4 |
| Apatite, Glass |
5 |
| Lapis Lazuli |
5 - 5.5 |
| Moldavite, Scapolite, Turquoise, Vlasovite |
5 - 6 |
| Opal |
5.5 - 6.5 |
| Labradorite, Moonstone, Sunstone |
6 - 6.5 |
| Diaspore, Peridot |
6.5 |
| Jade, Tansanite |
6.5 - 7 |
| Agate, Amethyst, Chalcedony, Citrine, Quartz, Steel |
7 |
| Garnet, Kunzite, Spessartite, Tsavorite |
6.5 - 7.5 |
| Spinel, Zircon |
7.5 |
| Aquamarine, Beryl, Emerald, Granite, Morganite |
7 - 8 |
| Spinel, Topez |
8 |
| Alexandrite, Chrysoberyl |
8.5 |
| Ruby, Sapphire |
9 |
| Diamond |
10 |
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