# Mohr's scale..Mineral softer than talc.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mohrs-scale-mineral-softer-than-talc/247761>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 30, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mohrs-scale-mineral-softer-than-talc/247761 "2004-05-30T04:35:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mohrs-scale-mineral-softer-than-talc/247761/1 "2004-05-30T04:35:29Z")

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Are there any minerals softer than 1 on Mohr’s hardness scale? Talc is a one.

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mohrs-scale-mineral-softer-than-talc/247761/2 "2004-05-30T04:42:24Z")

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Talc is it. Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the softest mineral on Earth. There are softer things, but they’re not considered minerals.

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mohrs-scale-mineral-softer-than-talc/247761/3 "2004-05-30T05:19:05Z")

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Some varieties of Pyrophyllite are about the same hardness as talc

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**Author:** ![aesop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@aesop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aesop)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mohrs-scale-mineral-softer-than-talc/247761/4 "2004-05-30T16:02:08Z")

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[nitpick] It’s Moh’s Scale, not Mohr’s scale. Named after Friedrich Moh.[/nitpick]