Friedrich Mohs harder. This became the basis of the hardness scale developed by Mohs. The hardest mineral, diamond was given a value of 10 and softer minerals such as talc were given the very low value of 1 (unity). Other minerals were given intermediate values, depending on their ability to scratch another mineral in the scale. Thus gypsum was given the value 2 because it will scratch talc crystals, and calcite the value 3 because it will scratch gypsum. Minerals are also now classified by chemical characteristics, but the physical properties are still useful in field examination. In 1812, Mohs became a
Frederic E. Mohs sections are examined instead of the Mohs paste-fixed sections. This method is now commonly referred to as Mohs surgery, and occasionally "chemosurgery", in reference to the Mohs paste that Mohs initially used. In 1943 Mohs married Mary Ellen Reynolds, who died in 1995. Mohs died at his home in Madison, Wisconsin on 2 July 2002, at the age of 92. He was survived by two sons, Frederic and Thomas, of Madison; and a daughter, Jane Schimming of Stuart, Fla. Frederic E. Mohs Frederic Edward Mohs (1 March 1910 – 2 July 2002), a physician and general surgeon, developed the Mohs