This is because the mineral sample is non-isotopic in structure. Not of equal strength in all directions.
Mica and asbestos fibres would be extreme examples.
But many ordinary crystals, being formed under uncontrolled conditions, will have natural defects.
The tendency of some minerals to break unevenly along curved or irregular surfaces is called cleavage. Cleavage is a property that describes how a mineral breaks when subjected to stress, and it is determined by the internal arrangement of atoms within the mineral's structure.
Minerals break in the main two ways cleavage and fracture. Cleavage is breaking in flat planes but fracture is more uneven even unpredictable. The hardest mineral to break would be the diamond, which is placed at a ten on Moh's hardness scale.
Cleavage in minerals refers to the way they break along specific planes due to their atomic structure. This affects their physical properties by influencing their shape, luster, and overall durability. Minerals with good cleavage break easily along these planes, resulting in smooth surfaces, while those with poor cleavage break unevenly.
Minerals that break with an uneven rough or jagged surface are classified as having a fracture. Some examples of minerals with this type of fracture include quartz, fluorite, and obsidian. These minerals break in a way that does not exhibit any distinct cleavage planes.
When a rock with a portruding edge that is less than ninety degrees in angle is struck on that edge and produces a conical shaped chip or "flake", leaving behind a concave flake scar where the material was removed from the rock, that is a conchoidal mineral.
Hematite
calcium
diamonds
cleavege of the mineral
The tendency of some minerals to break unevenly along curved or irregular surfaces is called cleavage. Cleavage is a property that describes how a mineral breaks when subjected to stress, and it is determined by the internal arrangement of atoms within the mineral's structure.
If the sun unevenly heats the minerals in a rock causing the rock to break, it is an example of physical weathering.
Minerals break in the main two ways cleavage and fracture. Cleavage is breaking in flat planes but fracture is more uneven even unpredictable. The hardest mineral to break would be the diamond, which is placed at a ten on Moh's hardness scale.
The difference between a mineral that has cleavage and one that has fracture is that cleavage is the tendency of some minerals to brake along flat surfaces and fracture is the tendency of some minerals to brake unevenly along curved or irregular surfaces.
Cleavage in minerals refers to the way they break along specific planes due to their atomic structure. This affects their physical properties by influencing their shape, luster, and overall durability. Minerals with good cleavage break easily along these planes, resulting in smooth surfaces, while those with poor cleavage break unevenly.
Minerals that break with an uneven rough or jagged surface are classified as having a fracture. Some examples of minerals with this type of fracture include quartz, fluorite, and obsidian. These minerals break in a way that does not exhibit any distinct cleavage planes.
Fracture
Cleavage