The simulator demonstrates the pairwise scratch rule that defines Mohs hardness: selecting any two of the ten reference minerals shows which one scratches the other based on their relative hardness ranks, and a side-by-side comparison view highlights how uneven the real physical hardness gaps are between adjacent steps, especially near the top of the scale.
Choose two minerals from the ten Mohs reference minerals using the selectors, then run the scratch test to see which mineral marks the other and by how many hardness steps they differ. Use the everyday reference objects, fingernail, coin, knife blade, and glass, to practice bracketing an unknown sample's hardness the way a field geologist would, and toggle the Vickers comparison view to see how nonlinear the true hardness values are across the scale.
Mineral selector dropdowns for the two specimens being compared, a Run Scratch Test button, a reference-object toggle for fingernail, coin, knife blade, and glass, and a Vickers comparison view switch showing linear versus true nonlinear hardness spacing.
Diamond's real physical hardness, measured on the quantitative Vickers scale, is roughly four times greater than corundum's, even though they sit just one step apart at 10 and 9 on Mohs' ordinal scale, a vivid reminder that Mohs numbers describe order, not magnitude.
The simulator demonstrates the pairwise scratch rule that defines Mohs hardness: selecting any two of the ten reference minerals shows which one scratches the other based on their relative hardness ranks, and a side-by-side comparison view highlights how uneven the real physical hardness gaps are between adjacent steps, especially near the top of the scale.
The simulator demonstrates the pairwise scratch rule that defines Mohs hardness: selecting any two of the ten reference minerals shows which one scratches the other based on their relative hardness ranks, and a side-by-side comparison view highlights how uneven the real physical hardness gaps are between adjacent steps, especially near the top of the scale.
Choose two minerals from the ten Mohs reference minerals using the selectors, then run the scratch test to see which mineral marks the other and by how many hardness steps they differ. Use the everyday reference objects, fingernail, coin, knife blade, and glass, to practice bracketing an unknown sample's hardness the way a field geologist would, and toggle the Vickers comparison view to see how nonlinear the true hardness values are across the scale.
Diamond's real physical hardness, measured on the quantitative Vickers scale, is roughly four times greater than corundum's, even though they sit just one step apart at 10 and 9 on Mohs' ordinal scale, a vivid reminder that Mohs numbers describe order, not magnitude.