GeoLog

mineral identification

Friedrich Mohs and the mineral scale of hardness

September 25, 2020
Friedrich Mohs and the mineral scale of hardness
Image credit: Hazel Gibson

One of the most famous identification methods in the study of mineralogy is the Mohs Scale of Hardness. A comparative scale, based on the hardness of each mineral, it is a way geoscientists can compare minerals to each other and organise them based upon an easily testable physical characteristic. Each level of hardness has a value, from 1 (the softest) to 10 (the hardest) and each number is associ ...[Read More]

Colour deficient vision and the geosciences; just another way of looking at things

September 18, 2020
Colour deficient vision and the geosciences; just another way of looking at things
Mineralogically complex drillcore from Australia (Photo by Simon Jowitt)

Like a reasonably large proportion of the population, I have colour vision deficiency (also known as colour deficient vision or colourblindness). I’m not going to get into the technical aspects of what this is like as they are covered well here and here, and you can do an Ishihara test, and other tests here, to check your own vision. The other reason I’m not going to discuss the technicalities of ...[Read More]