Why the Hardest Rocks Can Be Easy to Break

So, rocks are hard. But the scale we use to rank them, the Mohs scale, is only really good at quantifying that for one kind of hardness, and topaz is a perfect stone to talk about to explain that. And you can check it out in our SciShow Rocks Box subscription!

Hosted by: Stefan Chin (he/him)
----------
Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow
----------
Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever: Adam Brainard, Alex Hackman, Ash, Benjamin Carleski, Bryan Cloer, charles george, Chris Mackey, Chris Peters, Christoph Schwanke, Christopher R Boucher, DrakoEsper, Eric Jensen, Friso, Garrett Galloway, Harrison Mills, J. Copen, Jaap Westera, Jason A Saslow, Jeffrey Mckishen, Jeremy Mattern, Kenny Wilson, Kevin Bealer, Kevin Knupp, Lyndsay Brown, Matt Curls, Michelle Dove, Piya Shedden, Rizwan Kassim, Sam Lutfi
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
SciShow Tangents Podcast: https://scishow-tangents.simplecast.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scishow
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow
Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow

#SciShow #science #education #learning #complexly
----------
Sources:
Mohs Hardness Scale (U.S. National Park Service).
https://ballarini.cive.uh.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/96.pdf
Topaz | Geoscience Australia
Cleavage of Minerals | Geology In
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.5408/1089-9995-55.1.56
The Largest Faceted Gemstones in the World | Geology In
Moh's hardness scale compared to indentation hardness
https://www.chemeurope.com/en/encyclopedia/Indentation_hardness.html
http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM21/AM21_75.pdf
https://www.palagems.com/topaz-buying-guide
https://www.langantiques.com/university/beryl-2/
https://www.gemsociety.org/article/topaz-jewelry-and-gemstone-information/
https://www.ga.gov.au/education/minerals-energy/australian-mineral-facts/sapphire

Image Sources:
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/mans-hand-with-a-hammer-hits-the-rock-stock-footage/1989724380
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mohs.jpg
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/large-lunulae-or-half-moon-at-fingernail-with-royalty-free-image/1449865087?phrase=fingernail
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/nail-on-white-royalty-free-image/183295634?phrase=nail
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/diamond-loose-image-loopable-stock-footage/473169193
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/natural-ruby-gemstone-on-the-turning-table-stock-footage/1314826038
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/blue-sapphir-on-black-coal-background-royalty-free-image/1222335712?phrase=sapphire
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/uncut-imperial-topaz-royalty-free-image/535427664?phrase=topaz
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/macro-mineral-spinel-stone-on-white-background-royalty-free-image/1079170642?phrase=spinel
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/searching-for-stones-mines-and-precious-crystals-in-royalty-free-image/1054936628?phrase=spinel
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/topaz-nestled-in-bedrock-from-mexico-royalty-free-image/1724251277?phrase=topaz+mine
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topaz_27.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topaz_NHMLA.png
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topaze_Brésil.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topaz_red.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topaz-170679.jpg
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/rough-green-beryl-gemstone-isolated-royalty-free-image/1247698990?phrase=beryl
https://opentextbc.ca/physicalgeology2ed/chapter/2-6-mineral-properties/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41524-021-00608-3
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleavage_planes.png
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/topaz-mineral-stone-sample-in-rotation-with-white-stock-footage/1090929656
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/microscope-rock-analysis-royalty-free-image/531323408?phrase=geology+lab
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/diamond-head-pin-and-adjustment-move-up-down-table-royalty-free-image/1339874377?phrase=vickers+test
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/macro-stone-mineral-yellow-topaz-on-a-black-royalty-free-image/1327598545?phrase=topaz
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/pure-quartz-crystal-cluster-on-black-background-royalty-free-image/1446932434?phrase=quartz
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/imperial-topz-crystal-macro-detail-texture-royalty-free-image/1486708321?phrase=topaz
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/set-of-new-rasp-files-on-gray-background-working-royalty-free-image/1322476771?phrase=steel+file