Is Granite The Hardest Rock

There s no single hardest rock on earth.

Is granite the hardest rock.

Until the early 18th century in the western world granite could be carved only by hand tools with generally poor results. An example of the hardness of a granite countertop can be seen in the fact that a knife blade will not scratch the surface. In the commercial stone industry a granite is a rock with visible grains that are harder than marble. Granite brings a striking beauty that cannot be replicated by marble or quartz.

Granite is one of the hardest materials on earth. It is quite durable and highly heat resistant. So we strive for the hardest most attainable and attractive option in stones which happens to be granite and quartz. Resistant to scratching cracking and chipping.

The following is a list of rock types recognized by geologists there is no agreed number of specific types of rocks. A natural stone granite is rock hard second only to diamonds in terms of the hardness of natural materials. Granite comes in at a 6 to 7 on the mohs scale meaning it is relatively hard. The mohs hardness scale was developed by the german mineralogist friedrich mohs to determine the hardness of a mineral based on whether it can be scratched by a substance of known hardness.

Hardness of chalk is around 3 mohs. It is formed when molten lava flows onto and into rocks of other types. Granite stay at the number 7 at the mohs scale and granite is harder than marble. A properly installed sealed granite countertop will look like new and most likely last your lifetime under normal use.

The igneous rock is comprised of mostly quartz and feldspar along with smaller amounts of various other minerals. Under this definition gabbro basalt pegmatite schist gneiss syenite monzonite anorthosite granodiorite diabase diorite and many other rocks will be called granite. The strongest types on the other hand include quartz in their makeup. When properly sealed it will last for decades.

Any unique combination of chemical composition mineralogy grain size texture or other distinguishing characteristics can describe a rock type. Marble is a degree or two less and though it is still a very hard stone it s rating on the mohs scale is about a 5. These two stones have a mohs hardness rating of 6 or 7. Quartzite quartz sandstones rhyolites and granites according to the madsci network.

Calcium carbonate is also the number one mineral at the marble spec. Paul thompson photolibrary getty images granite is a 6 to 7 on the mohs hardness scale.