Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A scale for classifying minerals based on relative hardness, determined by the ability of harder minerals to scratch softer ones. The scale includes the following minerals, in order from softest to hardest: 1. talc; 2. gypsum; 3. calcite; 4. fluorite; 5. apatite; 6. orthoclase; 7. quartz; 8. topaz; 9. corundum; 10. diamond.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A scale of the
hardness ofminerals based on their ability toscratch one another
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[After Friedrich Mohs, (1773–1839), German mineralogist.]
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