Which is the hardest mineral to be found?

Diamond is the hardest known material. Edit: to Black hole---diamond is a mineral: "diamond is the hardest of all known minerals"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral#Mineral_definition_and_classification

2006-09-09 03:00:48 · answer #1 · answered by Joy M 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋

hi,

first the mineral to be classified as a "true" mineral, it must be a solid and have a crystal structure. It must also be an inorganic, naturally-occurring, homogeneous substance with a defined chemical composition. and for that diamond is a mineral not as included in the first answer ..

Hardness: the physical hardness of a mineral is usually measured according to the Mohs scale. This scale is relative and goes from 1 to 10. Minerals with a given Mohs hardness can scratch the surface of any mineral that has a lower hardness than itself. The minerals that define the scale are given below:
1- talc 2- gypsum 3- calcite 4- fluorite 5- apatite 6- orthoclase feldspar 7- quartz 8- topaz 9- corundum 10- diamond

Diamond is the hardest natural material known, scoring 10 on the relative Mohs scale of mineral hardness and having an absolute hardness value of between 167 and 231 gigapascals in various tests. Diamond's hardness has been known since antiquity, and is the source of its name. However, aggregated diamond nanorods, an allotrope of carbon first synthesized in 2005, are now believed to be even harder than diamond.[

2006-09-09 16:33:36 · answer #2 · answered by Geo06 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋

Diamond: 10
Syth. Moissanite:9.5
Corundum: 9
Cubic Zirconia:8.5
Spinel:8
Topaz: 8
The hardness scale was established by the German mineralogist, Friedrich Mohs. The Mohs’ hardness scale places ten common or well-known minerals on a scale from one to ten. One is the softest mineral and ten is the hardest. These are the minerals used in the Mohs’ hardness scale:

Mohs' Hardness Scale
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Talc Gypsum Calcite Fluorite Apatite Feldspar Quartz Topaz Corundum Diamond

To use the hardness scale, try to scratch the surface of an unknown sample with a mineral or substance from the hardness scale (these are known samples). If the unknown sample cannot be scratched by feldspar (6) but it can be scratched by quartz (7), then it's hardness is between 6 and 7. An example of a mineral that has a hardness between 6 and 7 is pyrite (6 to 6.5).

2006-09-09 10:36:32 · answer #3 · answered by Sam X9 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋

Diamond is the hardest mineral.

2006-09-09 15:22:10 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋

Diamonds are the hardest minerals.

2006-09-09 10:04:32 · answer #5 · answered by Screwball 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋

diamond is the hardest mineral to be found

2006-09-09 13:18:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋

Francium. It is the most unstable of the naturally occuring elements. See the link below.

2006-09-09 10:09:53 · answer #7 · answered by metatron 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋

Still a diamond, I believe... unless a man-made synthetic has surpassed it in hardness.

2006-09-09 17:32:59 · answer #8 · answered by Mike S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋

Gold. ?
or platinum maybe.

EDIT***
Diamond is not a Mineral.
it is mostly composed of Carbon.

2006-09-09 09:59:50 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋

Diamonds coz they are also a girl's best friend :)

2006-09-09 10:14:40 · answer #10 · answered by Urumi 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋

Which is the hardest mineral to be found?

15 answers