Mohs Scale Definition

Mohs Scale

Also known as the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, it was invented in 1812 by German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. It is a way to rate the hardness of a gemstone or mineral as compared to other stones and minerals. The Mohs scale ranges from one to ten, one being the softest, ten being the hardest. Diamond, the hardest natural substance rates as a ten, while talc rates as a one. It should be noted that the Mohs scale does not deal with the absolute hardness of a substance, just its hardness as related to the ten readily available minerals Friedrich Mohs initially analyzed.

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