10 steps to help you identify any mineral

The basics of mineral identification are easy to learn. All you need are some straightforward devices (like a magnet and an amplifying glass) and your forces of cautious perception. Keep a pen and paper or a computer with you to record your notes to identify the minerals.

1. Pick up your mineral

To identify the minerals use the largest mineral sample you can find. If its mineral is in fragments, bear in mind that they cannot all be from the same rock. Finally, make sure that your sample is clean and dry, free of dirt and debris. Now you are ready to start identifying your mineral.

2. Shine

When identifying minerals, it describes the way a mineral reflects light. This measure is the first step in mineral identification. Always check for shine on a fresh surface; You may need to expose a small sample to a clean sample of the chip. Luster metals range from dull (non-reflective and opaque) (highly reflective and opaque). In between, there are a half-dozen other categories of luster that assess the transparency and reflectivity degree of a mineral.

3. Hardness

This is another important process of mineral identification. Hardness is measured at 10 points on the Mohs scale, which is essentially a scratch test. Take an unknown mineral and scratch it with a purpose of known hardness (a mineral-like a nail or quartz). Through testing and observation, you can determine the hardness of your mineral, a major identifying factor.

For example, powder has a Mohs hardness of 1; You can crumble between your fingers. A precious stone, then again, has a hardness of 10. It is generally considered to be the most difficult material known to humans.

4. Colour

Color is important in mineral identification. You will need a fresh mineral surface and a source to examine in a strong, clear light. If you have an ultraviolet light, check to see if the mineral is a fluorescent color. Note if it displays any other special optical effects, such as iridescence or color changes.

The color opaque mineral Lazurite or brass yellow metal mineral is opaque like the blue of pyrite and is a fairly reliable indicator in metallic minerals. In straightforward or clear minerals, in any case, shading is less dependable as an identifier since it is typically the aftereffect of substance contamination. Pure quartz is clear or white, but quartz can be many other colors.

Try to be precise in your identity. Is it yellow or dark shade? Is it the same color as a common object, like bricks or blueberries? Why is this even more bizarre? Is there a pure color or a range of colors? Because this is an important factor to identify the minerals.

5. Streak.

Streak portrays the shade of a finely squashed mineral. Most minerals leave a white streak paying little heed to their general shading. But few minerals leave a specific streak that can be used to identify them. To identify your mineral, you will need a streak plate or something like it. A broken kitchen tile or even an easy pavement can.

Scratch your mineral across the streak plate with a scribbling motion, then see the result. Hematite, for example, will leave a reddish-brown streak. Keep in mind that the most professional streak plate is about 7. Have a rough hardness of the mineral. Keep that hard will scratch that place and will not leave a streak.

6. Mineral habit

A mineral habit (its common form) can be particularly useful for identifying certain minerals. There are more than 20 different words to describe a habit. A mineral showing the layers, like rhodochrosite, has a banded habit. Amethyst is a drusy habit, where the toothed projectile is the inner line of rock. Close perception and maybe an amplifying glass is all you requirement for this progression in the mineral identification measure.

7. Fragmentation and fracture

Fragmentation describes the way a mineral breaks down. Many minerals break up with flat planes or brasserie. Some bursts are available in only one direction (like asbestos), in two directions (like feldspar of others), and in three directions (like calcite) or more (like fluorite). Some minerals, like quartz, have no cracks.

Fission is a profound property that is the result of the molecular structure of a mineral, and even when the mineral does not form good crystals the crack is present. Fragmentation can also be described as good, good, or poor.

Fracture rupture is not flat and there are two types: conical (in the form of quartz, shell-shaped) and uneven. The metallic mineral may be a toothed (toothed) fracture. A mineral may crack but fracture in one or two directions in the other direction.

To detect cracks and fractures, you will need a rock hammer and a safe place to use it on minerals. Rhythm is also easy, but not necessary. Carefully look at the mineral break and from the shape and angle of the piece. It can break into leaflets (a crack), splinters or prisms (two cords), cubes or rhombs (three cords), or anything else.

8. Magnetism

The magnetism process can easily help you find minerals. The magnetism of one mineral may in some instances be the identifying characteristic of another. Magnetite, for example, also has a strong bridge that will attract weak magnets. But other minerals have only a weak attraction, especially chromite (a black oxide) and pyrrhotite (a bronze sulfide). You will want to use a strong magnet. Another way to test magnetism is to see if your sample attracts a compass needle.

9. Other mineral properties

Flavors can be used to identify evaporite minerals (formed by mineral evaporation) like rock salt or rock salt because they have specific flavor. Borax, for example, tastes sweet and slightly alkaline. However, be careful. Some minerals can make you feel disgusted if ingested in sufficient amounts. Gently, touch the tip of your tongue to get a fresh face of the mineral, then spit it out.

Whistle means the enthusiastic reaction of some carbonate minerals to the presence of an acid like vinegar. Dolomite, found in marble, will actively whistle, if spilled in a small bath of acid, for example.

The weight describes how heavy or dense a mineral feels in the hand. Most minerals are nearly three times as dense as water; That is, they have a specific gravity of note about 3. Of a mineral that is quite light or heavy for its size. Galena, which is seven times denser than water such as sulfide, will have a remarkable weight.

10. Look it up

The last step in identifying the mineral is to take your rundown of attributes and consult a specialist source. A good guide to rock formation minerals, including the most common list hornblende and feldspar, or should identify them by a common characteristic like metallic luster. If you still cannot identify your mineral, then you may need to consult a more comprehensive mineral identification guide.