<P> The Mohs scale of mineral hardness is a qualitative ordinal scale characterizing scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of harder material to scratch softer material . Created in 1812 by German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs , it is one of several definitions of hardness in materials science , some of which are more quantitative . The method of comparing hardness by seeing which minerals can visibly scratch others is , however , of great antiquity , having been mentioned by Theophrastus in his treatise On Stones , c. 300 BC , followed by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia , c. 77 AD . While greatly facilitating the identification of minerals in the field , the Mohs scale does not show how well hard materials perform in an industrial setting . </P>
<P> The Mohs scale of mineral hardness is a qualitative ordinal scale characterizing scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of harder material to scratch softer material . Created in 1812 by German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs , it is one of several definitions of hardness in materials science , some of which are more quantitative . The method of comparing hardness by seeing which minerals can visibly scratch others is , however , of great antiquity , having been mentioned by Theophrastus in his treatise On Stones , c. 300 BC , followed by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia , c. 77 AD . While greatly facilitating the identification of minerals in the field , the Mohs scale does not show how well hard materials perform in an industrial setting . </P>
the hardness of minerals is measured on the -- -- -- -- scale
the hardness of minerals is measured on the -- -- -- -- scale
Mohs scale
Mohs scale