EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Below is the Mohs Scale in Minerals and other materials. #1 – Talc, the softest mineral, used to make talcum powder and rubber lubricant. #2 – Gypsum, Alabaster, soft plastics, your finger nails, made into wall board. #2.5 – Hard plastics.

Detailed explanation-2: -This week, we look at the mineral Talc. This soft mineral sits at a 1 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, and when ground up becomes a common household powder.

Detailed explanation-3: -Talc is the softest mineral on Earth. It is a silicate and it also contains magnesium and water arranged into sheets in its crystal structure.

Detailed explanation-4: -Ten minerals make up the Mohs Scale from softest to hardest, they are talc (1), gypsum (2), calcite (3), fluorite (4), apatite (5), feldspar (6), quartz (7), topaz (8), corundum (9) and diamond (10).

Detailed explanation-5: -Talc: Talc is a phyllosilicate mineral that cleaves into thin sheets. These sheets are held together only by van der Waals bonds, which allows them to easily slip past one another. This characteristic is responsible for talc’s extreme softness, its greasy to soapy feel, and its value as a high-temperature lubricant.