Talc Talc Talc or talcum is a clay mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula HMg(SiO) or MgSiO(OH). In loose form, it is (in ratio with or without corn starch) one of the most widely used substances known as baby powder. It occurs as foliated to fibrous masses, and in an exceptionally rare crystal form. It has a perfect basal cleavage, and the folia are not elastic, although slightly flexible. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on scratch hardness comparison, defines value 1 as the hardness of talc. Talc can easily be scratched by a fingernail. Talc
Rosiwal scale with corundum with a base value of 1000. The Rosiwal scale is used in mineralogy in the same way as Mohs scale and Knoop scale. Rosiwal scale The Rosiwal scale is a hardness scale, with its name given in memory of the Austrian geologist August Karl Rosiwal. The Rosiwal scale bases its measure on absolute values, unlike the Mohs scale whose values are relative values, its interest is relegated to the amateur or an approach that makes it useful in the research field ('in situ'). The Rosiwal method (also called Delesse and Rosiwal) is basically a method of petrographic analysis