Marble Mohs Hardness

Granite comes in at a 6 to 7 on the mohs scale meaning it is relatively hard.

Marble mohs hardness.

This means that marble is less scratch resistant than granite. It is a part of the calcite group which also includes limestone dolomite boric acid brass and serpentine. What is the hardness of shale on the. Slightly softer than granite and gemstone quartzite quartz and onyx each rank at a 7 on the mohs scale.

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. A fingernail is too soft to scratch marble but a copper penny can easily scratch this material. An example of the hardness of a granite countertop can be seen in the fact that a knife blade will not scratch the surface. The test is useful because most specimens of a given mineral are very close to the same hardness.

As a result marble is easy to carve and that makes it useful for producing sculptures and ornamental objects. The translucence of marble makes it especially attractive for many types of sculptures. One of the most important tests for identifying mineral specimens is the mohs hardness test. On the mohs hardness scale marble is at number 3.

Calcite the mineral group including marble and limestone rates a 3 on mohs hardness scale just slightly harder than alabaster. These countertops are the least susceptible to scratching and many other damages. Granites like the black granite that we work with rate between 6 and 7 on the mohs scale. Depending on the limestone and the mineral combination within the marble most marble rates from three to five on the mohs hardness scale.

A knife will do virtually nothing to a stone this hard while the mineral itself can scratch glass and weaker stones and only be scatched itself by something harder. Among the harder natural stone countertop materials on the mohs scale are granite and gemstone which each rank at an 8 on the scale. What is mohs hardness scale. The igneous rock is comprised of mostly quartz and feldspar along with smaller amounts of various other minerals.

This test compares the resistance of a mineral to being scratched by ten reference minerals known as the mohs hardness scale see table at left. Marble has a mohs hardness scale rating between 3 4.