Mineral Tenacity and Fracture (original) (raw)
Definition
Tenacity is the resistance that a mineral offers to breaking, crushing, bending, cutting, or other acts of destruction. Fracture is how the mineral breaks once the tenacious limit has been exceeded.
Table
| Fracture | Fracture Description |
|---|---|
| Brittle - Conchoidal | Very brittle fracture producing small, conchoidal fragments. |
| Brittle - Irregular | Very brittle fracture producing irregular fragments |
| Brittle - Subconchoidal | Brittle fracture with subconchoidal fragments |
| Brittle - Splintery | Brittle fracture leaving splintery fragments. |
| Brittle - Sectile | Brittle fracture with slightly sectile shavings possible. |
| Brittle | Generally displayed by glasses and most non-metallic minerals. |
| Brittle - Uneven | Very brittle fracture producing uneven fragments. |
| Conchoidal | Fractures developed in brittle materials characterized by smoothly curving surfaces, (e.g. quartz). |
| Conchoidal - Irregular | Irregular fracture producing small, conchoidal fragments. |
| Conchoidal - Uneven | Uneven fracture producing small, conchoidal fragments. |
| Elastic | Fragments which spring back after bending. |
| Earthy | Dull, clay-like fractures with no visible crystalline affinities, (e.g. howlite). |
| Even | Flat surfaces (not cleavage) fractured in an even pattern. |
| Fibrous | Thin, elongated fractures produced by crystal forms or intersecting cleavages (e.g. asbestos). |
| Fragile | Crystals with a delicate and easily injured structure. |
| Flexible | Flexible fragments. |
| Friable | The crumbly disintegration of earthy materials or highly fractured minerals. |
| Granular | Fracture surfaces produced by aggregated minerals, (e.g. granite). |
| Hackly | Jagged, torn surfaces, (e.g. fractured metals). |
| Irregular | Flat surfaces (not cleavage) fractured in an irregular pattern. |
| Micaceous | Fracture of flexable micaceous cleavage fragments. |
| Malleable | Deforms rather than breaking apart with a hammer. |
| None | No fractures |
| Plastic | Deforms like soft, plastic materials. |
| Plastic - Splintery | Thin, soft flexable, elongated fractures produced by intersecting good cleavages or partings (e.g. hornblende). |
| Regular | Flat surfaces (not cleavage) fractured in a regular pattern. |
| Sub Conchoidal | Fractures developed in brittle materials characterized by semi-curving surfaces. |
| Sectile | Curved shavings or scrapings produced by a knife blade, (e.g. graphite). |
| Splintery | Thin, elongated fractures produced by intersecting good cleavages or partings (e.g. hornblende). |
| Sugary | Fracture surfaces produced by finely aggregated minerals, (e.g. massive anhydrite). |
| Tough | Difficult to break apart as shown by fibrous minerals and most metals. |
| Unknown | Minerals too small to observe fractures. |
| Uneven | Flat surfaces (not cleavage) fractured in an uneven pattern. |
| Weak | Hard to handle without causing serious harm or damage. |
For Further Information on Fracture
Search the Mineralogy Database
Example Subject Searches
Example: "fracture splintery"" for all minerals with a splintery fracture.
Example: "fracture tough" for all minerals with a noticeably tough (hard to break) tenacity