What is the easiest way to tell quartz and fluorite apart??
Gold is a metal which means it has ductility and malleability common to most metals. I believe it happens to be the most malleable. It can be beaten to transparency (just a few atoms thick). Like in many metals, this is due to metallic bonds that involve free flowing electrons. Quartz and diamond are much harder since they form strong crystals. Diamond is much harder than quartz since it's crystals actually involve covalent (molecular) carbon-carbon bonds.
Diamond with a hardness of 10 is extra stable than quartz that has a hardness of 7 (Mohs Hardness Scale it is relative and does not degree real hardness), yet in accordance to absolute/real hardness making use of a sclerometer, a diamond is 15 situations extra stable than quartz (1500:one hundred; The hardness quantity is the load in grams required to offer a common scratch).
