====== Mohs scale of hardness ====== **Mohs**, **Mohs hardness scale** The so-called Mohs scale assigns the numbers from 1 to 10 to the material hardness 1 for the softest, 10 for the hardest. It is named after the German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs (1773-1839). Mohs scratched different minerals against each other and so aligned them according to their hardness. Mohs (MOH) therefore holds as a measuring unit for the material hardness. ===== Comparison Chart ===== ^Material ^Mohs hardness ^ |Talc, talcum |1| |Plaster |2| |[[Silver]] |2.5| |[[Gold]], [[aluminium]], copper |2.5 - 3| |Calcite, marble |3| |[[Acrylic glass|Plexi-/Acrylic glass]], coral |3 - 4| |Fluorspar, iron |4| |[[Mineral glass|Mineral watch-glass]], apatite |5| |[[Steel]], porcelain, lapis lazuli, turquoise |5-6| |Feldspar, hardened steel |6| |Hematite, opal |5.5 - 6.5| |Moonstone |6 - 6.5| |Agate, Jasper |6.5 - 7| |[[Quartz]], rock crystal, amethyst, citrine, [[onyx]] and [[zirconium|zircon]] |7| |Turmaline |7 - 7.5| |Almandine |7.5| |Carbide |7 - 8| |Aquamarine, beryl, emerald, |7.5 - 8| |Topaz, Hardlex watch glass |8| |[[Ruby]], [[sapphire]] ([[corundum]]) |9| |[[Diamond]] |10| {{tag>Terms}}