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
Biotite or black, and even yellow when weathered. It can be transparent to opaque, has a vitreous to pearly luster, and a grey-white streak. When biotite is found in large chunks, they are called "books" because it resembles a book with pages of many sheets. The color of biotite is usually black and the mineral has a hardness of 2.5–3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Biotite dissolves in both acid and alkaline aqueous solutions, with the highest dissolution rates at low pH. However, biotite dissolution is highly anisotropic with crystal edge surfaces ("h k"0) reacting 45 to 132 times