2007-03-24 06:59:50 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Scratching a piece of glass will point you in the right direction, but there are many minerals that are hard enough to scratch glass. The way geologists often determine the hardness of a mineral, daimond being the hardest known, is to scratch it against another mineral with a known hardness, or a material with a known hardness such as a knife blade, or maybe a chisel. On Moh's Scale, glass has a hardness of about 5.5, whereas diamond is a 10. Certain types of hardened steel might serve as a better test than glass. Maybe try scratching it with a chisel tip. If you want to be sure you would have to scratch it against a ruby or a sapphire, both with hardness of 9, or a piece of the mineral corundum. I don't reccomend testing a diamond on a Ruby or Sapphire, because if it is real, you will scratch the Ruby or Sapphire.
2007-03-24 08:09:19 · answer #1 · answered by treefiter 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A diamond will scratch glass, but so will quartz or other glasses which people make fake diamonds out of. There really is no way for an untrained person to tell a diamond from a fake or synthetic. Take it to a jewelry store and ask them to check-most do it for free.
If you're feeling really lucky though, smash it with a hammer. Diamonds are literally the strongest materials on earth and won't break from a hammer. They only way they could is if there is a crack (fracture) already in it. Any other materials would break. I wouldn't recommend doing this though.
2007-03-24 08:06:45 · answer #2 · answered by Kelly M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The easiest way to go to a local jewelry store and they have a handheld device that test diamonds and its free. Scratching glass does work, but like someone else said, lots of things scratch glass. Diamonds will also scratch a quartz crystal and hardened steel.
2007-03-24 17:04:22 · answer #3 · answered by Shel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure, just bite down on it really hard. If it cracks before you tooth does, it aint no diamond! And just for you other brainiacs, there are alot of other things that will scratch glass.
2007-03-24 08:02:59 · answer #4 · answered by rico3151 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A diamond will scratch glass.
2007-03-24 07:45:37 · answer #5 · answered by Lindsay Jane 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
score a peice of glass, if it leaves a smooth score its probably real
2007-03-24 07:07:14 · answer #6 · answered by icekoldtech 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋